History Fanfic / TheGhostOfOchs

* IsThatWhatTheyreCallingItNow: A non-sexual (maybe) variant occurs when Edelgard is eating lunch with Claude and she's thinking far into the future about her plans when she becomes Emperor:
-->'''Edelgard:''' It's true that I have a lot on my mind, and that hasn't given me much time to socialize with others. As the future emperor, there is much I need to consider. Not just for today, but one, two, five...even ten years ahead. I'm sure you and Dimitri must have the same concerns.
-->'''Claude:''' Okay, you got me. I've been known to do a fair bit of strategizing myself. I'm probably not thinking as far ahead as you are, though.
-->'''Edelgard:''' 'Strategizing', you say? That's an interesting way of putting it.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: While the game allows Byleth to make Flayn participate in the Battle of the Eagle and Lion shortly after joining their house, Monica isn't granted the same courtesy in ''Ghost''. Missing out on half the school year due to being kidnapped wouldn't give Monica much time to bond with her classmates or with her professor, and since Byleth knows next to nothing about her new student's abilities at first, she can't incorporate Monica into the game plan without ruining the Black Eagles' team chemistry and jeopardizing their chances at winning the big mock battle.

* WhyIsntItAttacking: Some of the Black Eagles encounter a mother-son pair of demonic beasts in Remire Village. The younger boy, seeing the heavily armed defense forces, leaves them alone and goes after a Knight of Seiros standing guard by himself.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: While the game allows Byleth to make Flayn participate in the Battle of the Eagle and Lion shortly after joining their house, Monica isn't granted the same courtesy in ''Ghost''. Missing out on half the school year due to being kidnapped wouldn't give Monica much time to bond with her classmates or with her professor, and since Byleth knows next-to-nothing about her new student's abilities at first, she can't incorporate Monica into the game plan without ruining the Black Eagles' team chemistry and jeopardizing their chances at winning the big mock battle.

* WhatIf: The basic premise is Monica ''surviving'' her ordeal with "those who slither in the dark" and finishing out her Officers Academy curriculum as originally planned.

''The Ghost of Ochs'' (available on [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/22210498/chapters/53029414 Archive of Our Own]], [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13476313/1/The-Ghost-of-Ochs FanFiction.net]], and [[https://www.deviantart.com/willyfoureyes/gallery/72501523/the-ghost-of-ochs DeviantArt]]) is an ongoing ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' AlternateUniverseFic written by Tropers/WillyFourEyes, first published on January 12, 2020.

* BlackCloak: Flayn and Monica both describe being attacked by mages wearing feature-concealing black robes. Monica also recognizes some of the enemies that she and the other Black Eagles encounter in the Sacred Forest as members of the same group. The three travelers from Timotheos ''also'' wear mostly black, but turn out to be allies.

* ByTheHair: Monica asks Flayn to re-braid her hair [[DefiedTrope specifically to avoid having this happen to her]].

* RealityEnsues: While the game allows Byleth to make Flayn participate in the Battle of the Eagle and Lion shortly after joining their house, Monica isn't granted the same courtesy in ''Ghost''. Missing out on half the school year due to being kidnapped wouldn't give Monica much time to bond with her classmates or with her professor, and since Byleth knows next-to-nothing about her new student's abilities at first, she can't incorporate Monica into the game plan without ruining the Black Eagles' team chemistry and jeopardizing their chances at winning the big mock battle.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ghost_of_ochs_cover_tv_tropes.png]]

!! AdaptationDeviation tropes related to this story:

** Monica/[[spoiler:Kronya]] was depicted in the game as a sadistic killer and a SmugSnake who was [[FauxActionGirl quickly killed off in her only major battle]]. In this story, Monica is a [[DecompositeCharacter separate character]] from [[spoiler:Kronya]], and is reasonably polite and good-hearted.
** The same goes for Baron Ochs, who appears as the boss of Balthus and Hapi's paralogue in the game, and [[spoiler:is killed after transforming into a Demonic Beast in a manner mirroring Miklan's death]]. He's still initially distraught over his missing daughter in ''Ghost'', but he doesn't [[spoiler:resort to smuggling or shady black-market deals to save her]].
* DemotedToExtra: Although Byleth is one of the main characters, the story isn't told from her point of view, and thus [[spoiler:Sothis]] gets very little screentime.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: Baron Ochs is only referred to by his title in-game. ''Ghost'' gives him the name "Nicolaus".
* SparedByTheAdaptation: Again, Monica and Baron Ochs. [[spoiler:In the game, Monica was the victim of the machinations of "those who slither in the dark", and Baron Ochs appears in a post-Cindered Shadows DLC paralogue as a boss that has to be killed in order for Balthus to earn his Hero's Relic.]]

!! Other tropes:
* AccidentalPun: In Chapter 23, while the [[HeroesGoneFishing heroes have a friendly fish-off]] before their houses' missions, Monica, as the last person to cast her line, says to herself that she needs to "finish strong". Leonie picks up on the pun and says she's used to hearing jokes like that from Alois, who also wishes he'd thought of it first.

* BlackCloak: Flayn and Monica both describe being attacked by mages wearing feature-concealing black robes, hinting at the existence of [[spoiler:"those who slither in the dark"]].

* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: Subverted. While the story assumes Byleth selected the Black Eagles[[note]]with the quirk of Hanneman teaching the Golden Deer and Manuela teaching the Blue Lions when it's the other way around in the game[[/note]], Dimitri mentions that his house was the one who participated in putting down Lonato[[note]]game chapter 3[[/note]] and Miklan[[note]]game chapter 5[[/note]], as both battles took place in Faehrgus territory and involved family members of two of his housemates (Ashe and Sylvain, respectively).

* WhatIf: The story hinges on [[spoiler:Monica ''surviving'' her ordeal with "those who slither in the dark" and Kronya failing to use her as a means to sneak onto the monastery]].

It starts sometime after Chapter 6: Rumors of a Reaper, when Flayn is rescued from the Death Knight and the Flame Emperor's army. During the rescue mission, a second hostage is recovered - a former Officers Academy student named Monica, daughter of the baron of the Imperial House of Ochs. Unlike the Monica who appears in the game [[spoiler:(who is presumably [[KillAndReplace killed and replaced]] by Kronya of "those who slither in the dark" and her identity and appearance used to infiltrate Garreg Mach Monastery)]], the Monica who appears in ''Ghost'' is the real one, and is revived by Flayn after they are both brought back to safety. The story is told from Monica's perspective as she attempts to reintegrate with the school to finish her education, figure out why she was kidnapped, and become strong enough so that she (and others) never have to deal with similar horrors again.

* AccidentalPun: In Chapter 23, while the [[HeroesGoneFishing heroes have a friendly fish-off]] before their houses' missions, Monica, as the last person to cast her line, says to herself that she needs to "finish strong". Leonie picks up on the pun and says she's used to hearing jokes like that from Alois, who also wishes he'd thoughts of it first

* TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard: PlayedForLaughs in that Monica wishes she ''had'' a business card as proof of her identity, but resorts to this when identifying herself to a merchant in Drachen Village: [[AC:Monica von Ochs, Daughter of Baron Nicolaus the First, Student at the Garreg Mach Officers Academy, and Liberator of Trade Routes]]. To everyone else, she simply addresses herself with her family name, and nothing more.

* RealityEnsues: While the game allows Byleth to make Flayn participate in the Battle of the Eagle and Lion shortly after joining their house, Monica isn't granted the same courtesy in ''Ghost''. Missing out on almost ''one whole school year'' due to being kidnapped wouldn't give Monica much time to bond with her classmates or with her professor, and since Byleth knows next-to-nothing about her new student's abilities at first, she can't incorporate Monica into the game plan without ruining the Black Eagles' team chemistry and jeopardizing their chances at winning the big mock battle.