History Characters / FireEmblemThreeHousesDimitri

* CelibateHero: He doesn't seem too interested in romance, despite his position as the future king. In fact, in other routes, [[spoiler:his kingdom falls apart because he dies childless]]. However, this can be subverted if he is romanced by [[spoiler: female Byleth]] or he gets a paired ending with [[spoiler: Annette, Catherine, Flayn, Mercedes, Hapi, Ingrid, or Marianne]].

* TarotMotifs: Justice, represented by the crest of Blaiddyd. Upright, it represents justice, fairness, and truth; as is standard for Marth-like characters, Dimitri is a morally upstanding young man who believes in teamwork and defeating evil to keep his kingdom safe. [[spoiler: Inverted, it represents moral instability, bias, and harsh self-criticism; after the time-skip, Dimitri has let his survivor's guilt and hatred for Edelgard override any sense of justice he once had, prioritizing revenge against the Adrestian Empire and its soldiers over his health, his allies reservations, and even the the decline of Faerghus.]]

* UndyingLoyalty: ZigZagged with the Church. Just like his predecessors, he has a sense of loyalty towards it and especially Rhea, to the point that on the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:he grants her asylum after the Empire attacks and sacks the monastery, and fights Edelgard to his death to protect her]]. But in ''Three Hopes'', he says that his loyalty to them comes less from a desire to protect them, and more from his feelings that as King, he owes them because the Church assisted in founding Faerghus and that many living in the country are religious. And there are some moments in both games where it shows that [[spoiler:he's not above throwing them away if it means it will help Faerghus survive]].

** In ''Three Hopes'', he states that his priorities will be to protect the lives of Faerghus first and the Church second. As such, if saving just one life means he must cut ties with the Church, then he will do it, [[spoiler:[[BetrayalByInaction he will just not do it in a direct way]]]].

* UndyingLoyalty: Just like his predecessors, he holds this towards the church and especially Rhea, to the point that on the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:he grants her asylum after the empire attacks and sacks the monastery, and fights Edelgard to his death to protect her. He even tries to ally with them on the Silver Snow route, though Seteth declines due to the Church army being exhausted from recent battles]].

[-''Main Characters:'' [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesByleth Byleth]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesEdelgard Edelgard]] | '''Dimitri''' | [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesClaude Claude]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesRhea Rhea]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesShez Shez]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesOtherMainCharacters Other Main Characters]] \\
''Secondary Characters:'' [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesHubert Hubert]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesFerdinand Ferdinand]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesBernadetta Bernadetta]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesSylvain Sylvain]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesIngrid Ingrid]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesFelix Felix]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesLysithea Lysithea]]\\
''Houses:'' [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesBlackEagles The Black Eagles]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesBlueLions The Blue Lions]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesGoldenDeer The Golden Deer]]\\

* GameplayAndStoryIntegration:
** Dimitri is stated multiple times to be ''very'' strong, frequently breaking weapons by accident from swinging them too hard. He even broke a sword as a child! He also has both the highest maximum potential strength stat at a whopping 87 points and the highest personal strength growth in the game at 60%, above even bigger and burlier guys like Dedue and Raphael. The effect of his Crest also reflects both his enhanced strength and his tendency to accidentally break weapons, as it doubles his attack and weapon durability usage for combat arts.
** He is noted as a OneManArmy in canon, and this very much applies to him in gameplay as well. It's common for him to take on multiple enemies and come out the victor, and with the Vantage Battalion and Wrath ability he can effortlessly slaughter dozens of enemies during the enemy phase.
** Post-timeskip on the Azure Moon route, Dimitri is so consumed by his rage and single-minded desire to murder the Flame Emperor that he actively pushes people away from him and even throws IneffectualDeathThreats their way. He doesn't attend war meetings, snarls at his allies that they're wasting their time if they heal him, can't build supports, be invited to monastery activities, or be given gifts. After Chapter 17 and his [[spoiler:RedemptionInTheRain, he calms down, seeks to atone, and once again can build support points and be interacted with as normal]].
** According to Sylvain in the Crimson Flower route, ever since the [[CynicismCatalyst Tragedy of Duscur]], Dimitri has held resentment against the Empire due to [[spoiler:suspecting they had played a role in the Tragedy]]; Sylvain also notes that even during his time at the Academy, Dimitri never tries to connect with anyone from the Empire. While Dimitri himself doesn't dislike any of the Black Eagles students [[note]]Ferdinand, Dorothea, and Caspar even have positive remarks about Dimitri late in Azure Moon, hinting a lack of animosity[[/note]] aside from [[spoiler:Edelgard and (to an extent) Hubert]], after TheReveal, or any Church members hailing from the Adrestian Empire (at least outside of his moments of insanity), he cannot support with any of them in ''Three Houses''. The only exceptions to this are his interactions with Mercedes[[note]]who was a former Adrestian noble living in the Kingdom since 13 years before the events of the main story[[/note]], some possible offscreen interactions with Caspar and Ferdinand in Azure Moon (the former notes that Dimitri apologized for threatening to torture Randolph), and lamenting the deaths of [[spoiler:an unrecruited Manuela and Hanneman]] if they were killed in his paralogue in Part II. In ''Three Hopes'', Dimitri supports Bernadetta, and is the only Black Eagles student whom he has supports with.
** For growth boons and banes:
*** The Kingdom's knighthood tradition and his status as a prince inclines him towards swordsmanship, authority, lances (the Royal Family's Hero's Relic being one), and he has a hidden talent in horse riding. In fact, one of his Part II lesson plans (Lances and Riding) has him mention that his late father, Lambert, was a cavalryman in his prime.
*** His two banes are in axes and Reason magic. For axes, other than being a weapon that's somewhat at odds with his fighting style, axes can be associated with barbarism and savagery, traits that Dimitri negatively associates with the Tragedy of Duscur; as for his weakness in Reason, while Dimitri is perceptive, intelligent, and can be wise, he also wears his heart and inner demons on his sleeve (and struggles to visibly ''not'' do so). [[spoiler:His mental state fracturing compromises his ability to ''reason'' with others, forming one of the major obstacles he must overcome come Part II.]]
*** Faith Magic: While Byleth has a Hidden Talent in it ([[spoiler:Being [[PhysicalGod Sothis']] vessel and whatnot]]) and Edelgard and Claude have growth banes in it, Dimitri's growth is neutral. On one hand, he finds that the Goddess has [[TheGodsMustBeLazy no real presence in Fódlan]], and like the other Lords, he is not entirely happy with the state of the church as it is. On the other hand, he acknowledges that faith, especially its charitable aspects, is an excellent motivator and aid for the commonfolk and especially the poor. [[spoiler:Heavily reforming the church and promoting its charitable nature to the forefront are two major changes that come about on the Azure Moon route, with Byleth leading as the new Archbishop.]]
*** There's even a pragmatic component to his stance on Faith and the church: [[spoiler:On the Crimson Flower route, he uses the Kingdom's good relationship with the Central Church to take them in as allies during the war, and they will fight together during the Tailtean Plains battle. However, Dimitri shows surprisingly little concern for the Church forces (led by Rhea) that try to ensnare the Black Eagle Strike Force, barely acknowledging their retreat if Rhea is beaten first.]]
** Dimitri has no sense of taste ([[LiteralMetaphor literally]]). He only dislikes one item in the dining hall (Peach Sorbet), and said item is described as cold.
** His upbringing revolved a lot around training in combat as the future king whether he wanted or not, which didn't allow him to try out any other activities. All of Dimitri's lost items and preferred gifts have some involvement with weapon maintenance and training,
* GameplayAndStorySegregation:
** While he admits to being rather clumsy and struggles with dexterous tasks, Dimitri has a relatively high Dexterity cap (69), growth (50%), and base (7), all of which are higher than Felix's.
** Even though Dimitri's mental state has gone off the deep end upon finding out who [[spoiler:the Flame Emperor]] really is at the end of Chapter 11, you can still invite him over for monastery activities such as dining and choir practice in Chapter 12, with his personality remaining the same calm and kind prince he was before said chapter. If you are teaching the Blue Lions, he doesn't act any different when inviting him over for tea or giving him lecture instructions. And when fighting in the battle to [[spoiler:defend Garreg Mach]], his voice lines in battle remain the same prior to the WhamEpisode.
** He acts incredulous at the possibility of winning the White Heron Cup and claims to be a terrible dancer. Despite this, he has one of the best Charm growths in the game, with Charm being the deciding factor in the competition.

* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: Dimitri's growths lean towards the Myrmidon, Soldier, and Lord family trees, being a pure physical fighter unlike ArcherArchetype and DragonRider Claude. With his LightningBruiser build, he doesn't need magic or ranged weapons.

** Post-timeskip on the Azure Moon route, Dimitri is so consumed by his rage and single-minded desire to murder the Flame Emperor that he actively pushes people away from him and even throws IneffectualDeathThreats their way. He doesn't attend war meetings, snarls at his allies that they're wasting their time if they heal him, can't build supports, be invited to tea time, or be given gifts. After Chapter 17 and his [[spoiler:RedemptionInTheRain, he calms down, seeks to atone, and once again can build support points and be interacted with as normal]].
** According to Sylvain in the Crimson Flower route, ever since the [[CynicismCatalyst Tragedy of Duscur]], Dimitri has held resentment against the Empire due to [[spoiler:suspecting they had played a role in the Tragedy]]; even during his time at the Academy, Dimitri never tries to connect with anyone from the Empire. While Dimitri himself has no explicit antagonism towards any of the Black Eagles students[[note]]Except [[spoiler:Edelgard and (to an extent) Hubert]], after TheReveal[[/note]] or any Church members hailing from the Adrestian Empire (at least outside of his moments of insanity), he cannot support with any of them in ''Three Houses''. The only exceptions to this are his interactions with Mercedes[[note]]who was a former Adrestian noble living in the Kingdom since 13 years before the events of the main story[[/note]], some possible offscreen interactions with Caspar and Ferdinand in Azure Moon (the former notes that Dimitri apologized for threatening to torture Randolph), and lamenting the deaths of [[spoiler:an unrecruited Manuela and Hanneman]] if they were killed in his paralogue in Part II. In ''Three Hopes'', Dimitri supports Bernadetta, and is the only Black Eagles student whom he has supports with.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: He has this dynamic with Dedue and he can also become this with Felix if he gets a paired ending with him.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: After the Tragedy of Duscur, Dimitri gained a strong sense of justice and hatred towards those who use their power and positions to bring harm to the ones weaker than them, and killing in general. [[spoiler:After he starts going more and more insane during the time-skip, though he's not the king of his nation nor has any other high status, he has spent all those years killing Imperial soldiers so he can get closer and closer to Edelgard, even if the deaths of these soldier won't help him in his goal at all. Even on Crimson Flower, him going against Edelgard and defending Faerghus is more done out of vengeance rather than wanting his kingdom to florish, which results in even more deaths. And he's painfully aware of it as well, as he admits himself to be a monster to both Randolph and Byleth and if he falls, he says that he deserves an end like the one he gets.]]

* CelibateHero: He doesn't seem too interested in romance, despite his position as the future king. In fact, in other routes, [[spoiler:his kingdom falls apart because he dies childless]].

** Pre-timeskip in ''Three Houses'', Felix mentions in their support chain that during a battle to quell a rebellion, Dimitri fought so savagely that Felix did not recognize him as the friend he had known, labeling him afterward as a monster. A morose Dimitri does not deny Felix’s account of the event. In ''Three Hopes'' post-timeskip, Felix adds that Dimitri was smiling as he killed the enemy commander. Sure enough, his battle model has an unnerving smile.

** In an example that takes over a decade to come back around, [[spoiler:when Edelgard and Dimitri were children, Dimitri gave Edelgard a dagger so that she, in his words, could cut a path to her future. Cut to the end of the Azure Moon campaign, where Dimitri offers a defeated Edelgard the chance to work together to build the future; she in turn attempts to kill him(or at least provoke him to kill her) with the very dagger he gave her years before]].