Ars Goetia is a crossover between Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Persona where the new Professor also becomes the newest Fool. Written by FoxOnPie.
Byleth Eisner knew she was born a mercenary, she decided to live as a mercenary, and she assumed she would die a mercenary. The cards, however, told her that a different fate was in store for her, and meeting it would require the two skills she lacked in life: understanding people and understanding herself.
It can be read at Spacebattles
, Archive of Our Own, and FF.net
Beware of unmarked spoilers.
Ars Goetia provides examples of:
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Those who slither in the dark appear earlier here than they did in the game.
- Arc Words: The past, present, and future seem to be the focus of the story. They're featured in both the making of a new Confidant and the contract that Sothis gives to Byleth.
- I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall use the turmoils of the past to gather strength in the present for moving forward into the future. Such is the gift the Arcana bestows upon thee.
- "I don't truly understand it myself, but I can tell that it's meant for you." The girl (Sothis) waved her right hand in a fanciful manner, and in front of Byleth's face appeared two items floating in midair: a feathered quill and a single piece of paper that read, "Time is an incorporeal thing. Past, present, and future are all equal in strength, and one should never outweigh the other two. I hereby agree to the statement above, and I chooseth this fate of mine own free will."
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The Nibelungs are on the receiving end of one in chapter 6 when they face a pair of Shadows that none of their attacks work on.
- Darker and Edgier: In addition to the Crapsack World Fódlan was in canon, now there's a Zombie Apocalypse in the form of the Draugr that's been going on for decades.
- Denser and Wackier: Despite the Darker and Edgier setting with the looming Zombie Apocalypse, Byleth's Literal-Minded and comically serious personality, coupled with FoxOnPie's own preference for lemony, zany narration chock full of Mythology Gags, result in a much sillier work than the original game. In fact, the work seems to be written with the same tone as Persona 4: The Animation, with Byleth responding with all of the weirdest and silliest dialogue options.
- Disabled in the Adaptation: The glasses accessory is a permanent part of Byleth's wardrobe here, implying she has some kind of vision problem.
- Dramatic Irony: Rhea and Seteth see Personas as a divine power that only a chosen few are able to obtain, but anyone who's played a Persona game will know that the requirements for obtaining one usually aren't as great as they make them out to be.
- Expy: Personality-wise, Byleth is one for Makoto Yuki, even having "personal space" for a catchphrase.
- Foreshadowing: Byleth's interactions with Alois and Rhea in chapter three set up how the DLC reveals that she looks almost exactly like her mother, Sitri.
- Forgotten First Meeting: Judging by her dreams, Byleth seems to have met the leaders of the three houses when they were children. She doesn't make the connection due to Edelgard's different hair color in the present, however.
- Magitek:
- The guns the Nibelungs used after they awakened to their Personas implements this, with the ammunitions reloaded by magic.
- To cross a big river, a keycard is required to activate a bridge. The keycard is inserted and pulled out from a slit of a metal arch, shooting a silver bridge that connects from opposite sides. The Nibelungs are quite amazed by this since this kind of technology hasn't been invented yet.
Claude: A key you don't have to turn to unlock something. What a time to be alive. - Morton's Fork: The founding members of the Nibelungs discuss about needing additional power of Dark Magic as it is the weakness of a pair of strong Shadows. However, one of Byleth's current Personas that can do it is rather weak, so the only way they can do is to find someone who specialize in Dark Magic that can help them. The choice is either Hubert or Lysithea. Since the latter dislikes Byleth due to her personality, the Nibelungs choose the former since he is part of Byleth's class and he can put his feelings aside to listen.
- Mystical Plague: The Draugr Plague, where people are driven insane and transform into horrific beasts with no purpose but to kill anything in their path. The plague affects everyone, regardless of age, health, even whether they possess a Crest or not, and when the story starts there is no known cure.
- It turns out that the Draugr are caused by Shadows being sent out of Yggdrasil and merging with the souls of their victims, causing said victims to undergo a horrific transformation into Draugr.
- Mythology Gag:
- According to Byleth's dream, she and the three house leaders gained their Persona potential via a game/ritual like in the original Persona, orchestrated by a masked man known by the name of Chandraputra, a minor character from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment.
- Byleth has "personal space" as a catchphrase.
- Kamoshida is the professor whose position Byleth takes over after he abandons the house leaders at the beginning of the story.
- In chapter six, Edelgard is shown interacting with a cat named Zula.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: Shadows are shown to be completely immune to normal attacks and only mildly affected by magic and Crests.
- Norse Mythology: The Personas and the otherworldly place the heroes fight them in, Yggdrasil, are themed after characters from Norse mythology or Norse history. For instance, Byleth's Persona, Freydis, is named after the woman alleged to be the daughter of Erik the Red, the Norse sailor who was the first European reached the Americas.
- No Social Skills: Byleth is, to put it lightly, lacking in the ability to interact with people off the battlefield.
- Original Character: Adam, Igor's Velvet Room attendant. Like the other attendants from the Persona series, his name alludes to the Frankenstein novel. He is named after Adam Frankenstein, the Frankenstein's Monster's hypothetical Christian name.
- Ship Tease: Byleth and Edelgard get a lot of it (though it's mostly one-sided on Edelgard's part).
- Shout-Out: Byleth apparently has a dish called a Grilled Byleth.
- In terms of physical appearance, Byleth's Persona, Freydis, is basically a female Kratos. In a similar vein, Dimitri's Gunnar is basically Inosuke.
- When it becomes clear that the team can't beat an Oberon and Titania duo, Byleth says, "Okay! This looks unwinnable."
- Synchronization: Just like the anime adaptations of Persona 4 and Persona 5, any damage a Persona takes is reflected on its owner.
- Tarot Motifs: Like always, the Tarot shows up in the story, to represent Byleth's Confidants.
- 0. The Fool: The Nibelungs: The team founded by Byleth, Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude, and Sothis to investigate the Draugr plague and the people causing it.
- 0. The Jester: Edelgard von Hresvelg: Edelgard's Arcana, Jester, is the counterpart/Foil to the Fool, Byleth's Arcana. This reflects how she is the only other currently-living person with the Crest of Flames.
- 1. The Magus: Claude von Riegan: The Magus is the Thoth equivalent of the Magician Arcana. Byleth helps Claude in building lockpicks and other tools that would be useful when exploring Yggdrasil, in exchange he will share some parts of his shady past to her.
- 8. Adjustment: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd: Adjustment is the Thoth equivalent of the Justice Arcana. Dimitri wants Byleth to help him avenge the victims of the Tragedy of Duscur by bringing the true culprits to justice.
- Tears of Joy: Rhea is overcome with happiness upon seeing Byleth's Persona in Chapter 3.
- Trigger Phrase: Sothis can't summon the Bïfrost (the portal that connects Fódlan and Yggdrasil) herself when she appears in Fódlan since the Bifrost will only carry people into the world which is opposite to the one it was called to, so the only way for the group to go to Yggdrasil from Fódlan is by saying the word, "Ásbrú".
- In fact, the reason Byleth and the three house leaders are transported to Yggdrasil for the first time is because when Byleth said, "I'm always as brutal as I need to be.".
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Edelgard doesn't like rats, as in canon, so when she sees some rat Shadows in Chapter 2 she suffers a Heroic BSoD.
- You Don't Look Like You:
- In Chapter 5, King Frost is described as having its SMT design◊ as opposed to its Persona design◊.
- Chapter 6 shows a similar change with Oberon, whose classic look◊ has been replaced with his design◊ from Soul Hackers.
- In Chapter 5, King Frost is described as having its SMT design
