Return of the Naruto Community Derail Thread: Part Two!

New supports I'd add are:

• Claude: w/ Judith, Dedue, and a possible paired ending with Male Byleth.
• Edelgard: w/ Ashe, Marianne, Mercedes, and Jeritza, and a sole C-support with Flayn that can allow more people to spare her and Seteth.
• Hubert: w/ Leonie, Lorenz, Lysithea, and Marianne.
• Jeritza: w/ Edelgard, Lysithea, Manuela, and Caspar.
• Judith: w/ Byleth, Claude, Hilda, Leonie, Raphael, Ingrid, Sylvain, and Dorothea.
• Rhea: w/ Byleth, Seteth, Flayn, Catherine, Cyril, Felix, Mercedes, and Yuri.

Claude:

• Judith - Encourages him to grow up.
• Dedue - Dedue joins the party if he survives Enbarr, and their epilogue has the truth of Duscur uncovered. I'd like for that to be exclusive to Verdant Wind, since Dimitri needs to let go of the past, while Claude wants to clarify it.
• Also, Claude could reach a paired ending with either Male or Female Byleth.

Edelgard:

• Ashe - About what kind of man Lonato was, and how she could reach out to the commoners. She could promise to look more closely into what happened at Duscur and potentially clear Christophe's name.
• Marianne - On strength through hardship. In a platonic epilogue, Marianne is named Edelgard's successor, after Margrave Edmund's tutelage. This keeps the theme of Marianne being a strong leader in her endings, and Edelgard finding a worthy, non-hereditary successor. Also, this could mend bridges.
• Mercedes - Locked to part 2. They discuss the role of the Church, how it was there for some people like Mercedes, but not others like Emile (or El herself, but she doesn't say that out loud). In a platonic epilogue, Mercedes is the new archbishop, reforming the Church to more of a charitable organization.
• Jeritza - see below.
• Flayn - C support only, locked to part 1 after the kidnapping. Have Edelgard condemn the kidnapping (which wasn't under her orders, but we only find that out later) Edelgard basically suggests that she is sorry for what Flayn must have experienced, and hints that she may know what it was like. If this happens, then Seteth and Flayn can be spared by default in part 2. Edelgard doesn't want Nabateans dead, just not influencing humanity.

Hubert:

• Leonie - They criticize each other for how much they obsess over Edelgard/Jeralt, as the person who gives their life meaning. They then try to get the other to see that other people care about them, too. Could have a romantic ending.
• Lorenz - "Are you the sort of noble Lady Edelgard can trust?" A comedic C/B/B+ support, with the two being competent at their jobs, but getting on each others' nerves.
• Lysithea - He takes a shining to her and encourages her to get close to Edelgard. The Edie/Lysithea bond reminds him of when Edelgard was close with her siblings. Ending could be platonic or romantic.
• Marianne - They discuss the perceptions and reputations around them. Marianne also mentions Edelgard as a symbol of strength (unprompted). Hubert resolves that he will always accept Marianne, if she chooses to change the perception around her or not. He also tries to reassure that he's comfortable with who he is, but it's a bit ambiguous if he's telling the truth. Romantic or platonic ending if it reaches that point.

Jeritza:

• Edelgard - She asks what his plan is after the war. If they epilogue, he serves penance in prison then retires as Emile. Platonic pairing.
• Lysithea - They bond over sweets, and Jeritza wonders what might've been if they weren't allies.
• Manuela - Jeritza's apology. If they epilogue, Manuela basically pioneers mental health. Could be romantic or platonic.
• Caspar - Jeritza hypothesizes that maybe he could help him control the Death Night. He could take Caspar on as an apprentice and his handler.

Judith:

• Byleth - Obviously.
• Claude - See above.
• Hilda - Attempt to motivate Hilda to be more serious.
• Leonie - Warrior role model.
• Raphael - Something surprisingly deep, giving Raphael something more than the basic himbo supports.
• Ingrid - Could include the "warrior role model" route, but also, Ingrid's house was once a part of Judith's house in backstory, but split off. This split cost House Daphnel its roundtable status. (Someone else pointed out this detail)
• Sylvain - Of course Sylvain might try to flirt with a strong woman.
• Dorothea - ...Of course Dorothea might try to flirt with a strong woman.

Rhea:

• Byleth - Obviously. This would also be where some of the reveals happen.
• Seteth - About trust and secrets.
• Flayn - About Rhea's regrets getting Cethleann involved in the war as a child.
• Catherine - Begins with Catherine's hero worship of Rhea, but Rhea starts to become willing to show Catherine her real self underneath. Ending as platonic or romantic.
• Cyril - About Cyril growing into his own man. Platonic.
• Felix - a C/B support about the kind of man Dimitri has become, where Rhea reflects on how influences may corrupt humans.
• Mercedes - a C/B support about being a good role model for the faith.
• Yuri - About the Abyss.

The main storyline and characterization dominos I'd change:

1. Have the Leicester Alliance be on the brink of collapse prior to Claude showing up out of nowhere. Particularly, an assortment of nobles led by Lorenz's father are likely to defect to the Empire, which already canonically happens on all non-VW routes.
2. Increased importance for Cornelia's relationship with Dimitri, especially with pressuring him to reclaim his "birthright" of the lands of the Alliance that were formerly part of the Kingdom (on non-AM routes).

If you start from here, I believe it could go a long way to make all four routes more distinct:

• On Silver Snow and Crimson Flower, this would mean certain Alliance nobles would try to get in Edelgard's good graces in part 1, and alliance commoners would also be more willing to listen. On both these routes, this means she relies less on TWSITD earlier. The route split wouldn't happen in the tomb, but would be much more clearly signalled at the decision to choose to go with her to Enbarr or not, which would not be a missable event. If you choose to stay at the school, you can start to get closer to Rhea.
  • On Silver Snow, it doesn't automatically recruit the Black Eagles, but instead, automatic party members are Catherine, Cyril, Seteth, Flayn, and Rhea. You also retain all recruited students except the Black Eagles. The plot changes mean that with some earlier Alliance reinforcements, Edelgard's decreased reliance on TWSITD means they start looking to the Kingdom as a better backup plan, with Cornelia taking a more active role in poisoning Dimitri's mind, by shifting the blame of Duscur and hardship to Edelgard. Meanwhile, this whole route, the Alliance has been on very shaky ground throughout, so Claude has been attempting to play the morally ambiguous role by hiring Almyrans as mercenaries playing "hero", for the Alliance to hold out. Once Edelgard is defeated, the Alliance basically concedes that it will back whichever of the Church or the Kingdom win the war, at which point he does what he already does in Silver Snow and ghosts. Rhea is still Edelgard's prisoner for the first part of part 2, but is kept in better condition, as Edelgard makes more of an effort to try to keep her as a healthier prisoner, so that she could try to persuade her to unite against the common foe in the Agarthans, since Edelgard isn't working with them as closely here. When you defeat Edelgard, Rhea becomes the playable exclusive character for the last third of the game. This is also where Rhea could make her confessions, and supports with her could begin. This maintains the intended difficulty for much of the story, but shifts the endgame of Silver Snow to instead be against Fallen!Dimitri, as Cornelia attempts to make him into their puppet, as a new Nemesis. He is the final boss for this route, as you put him out of his misery. This does mean that Rhea doesn't actually get a rematch with the original Nemesis on this route.
  • The standard "Silver Snow", that ends against Rhea, is now Cinders and Snow, the "Yuri/Ashen Wolves Route", the end of the Cindered Shadows route. It doesn't automatically recruit the Black Eagles, but instead, automatic party members are the four Ashen Wolves, Catherine, Cyril, Seteth, and Flayn. After Enbarr, TWSITD make their move, and bomb Enbarr. The party and Rhea survives, at which point the information from Hubert's note, Seteth's investigation, and the experience of the party, are what make them realize where TWSITD are hiding. The events in Shambala and the resultant corrupted Rhea fight happen here.
  • On Crimson Flower, Edelgard does get close to a deal with Alliance lords, but Byleth's disappearance and Rhea's flight to the Kingdom put a halt to that. When Byleth returns, the point of going to Derdriu is to attempt to get Claude to concede, and let the Alliance lords who wish to defect actually do so, even if it means the end of the Alliance. He will only concede if you can actually best him, but once you do, he willingly concedes and you spare him (as per current canon and developer's intent that he survive all routes). With the Alliance reinforcements, Edelgard moves to take out Thales at Hrym prior to going to the Kingdom. She doesn't have to lie about Arianrhod, because that never happens (she had no real reason to lie), instead exposing, beating, and scattering TWSITD (led by Thales; no Nemesis on this route) who the war was needed to bait out his forces. From here, Edelgard attempts to get Rhea to surrender at the Kingdom peacefully, but as per canon, those efforts fail. I think better rationale for Rhea going crazy would be that, since she's spent 5 years exposed as being a Nabatean and Seiros herself, she's taken on a more controlling and religious fundamentalist approach, believing that humans can't be trusted after the failures of the past and present, and is now demanding to be praised as the goddess herself. This would better follow up on her personal rage at Byleth's unwillingness to execute Edelgard. With her staying at the Kingdom, Dimitri would believe he has the favor of the Goddess herself, for the Holy Kingdom (Dukedom) to wage a holy war. This could also borrow elements of Rhea's current Silver Snow bad ending option, where her instability corrupts some of her knights, specifically, Gilbert. Also, potentially, since Flayn and Seteth are Nabateans who aren't descended from Rhea, they could defect or be convinced to retreat, out of disgust for what she has become. Again, Edelgard shouldn't want to kill all Nabateans, but want them out of governance, and Rhea is providing a great example for why.
• On Azure Moon, the Alliance's pro-empire faction don't outright side with Edelgard, but the Alliance is still fractured. As with Silver Snow, Claude uses the opportunity to release Almyrans, but here, he would have them attack more to the northwest, closer to the Kingdom ("dukedom", during the time skip), to keep Cornelia's forces away from the Alliance while he dithers for time. This decision might be played as a bit more morally ambiguous, to question just how much he actually cared about the lives of individuals in the Alliance or Almyra, or if he was sacrificing individuals for his own ambitions (as he has canonically stated he might have considered if not for Edelgard's war). The Alliance falling apart further justifies Claude's leaving for Almyra and handing the territory to Dimitri. By contrast, Dimitri can resolve to care more about the people of the present day, and be less shackled to the past. The changes I'd have would work especially well if Azure Moon was the only route Dimitri was deposed on. He'd basically be Cornelia's insurance plan on those other routes if they failed to use Edelgard as a weapon. This would make his hero's journey on Azure Moon more unique.
• On Verdant Wind, the Alliance lords don't defect, but Claude's leadership was getting more and more tenuous while Byleth slept. Some Lords are still pro-Empire. On the other hand, Cornelia has been convincing Dimitri that he should be entitled to the Alliance, and that their secession from the Kingdom was a mistake that should be corrected by invasion. Claude and his army desperately needs a big win or show of leadership to keep it together, which Byleth's return helps provide. Dimitri can still die after the three houses have their rematch, as he does in current canon. Shortly before Enbarr, I'd like for the events of "A Late Night Negotiation" to happen. Claude and Edelgard have a parlay after Claude successfully sneaks in. Edelgard impresses upon Claude that there are some things one must do, and challenges him that when he leads, he will be more decisive and direct. Edelgard and Dedue both insist that Edelgard die to justify why people should follow Claude, and if Dedue or Claude beats her personally, Dedue can join the party permanently. Upon beating Edelgard, her and Hubert's warnings about TWSITD inspire Claude to come clean to his classmates about his identity as Khalid. Their and Lysithea's experiences and warnings also let Claude figure out what's really going on in Hrym. Claude/Khalid is able to broker an agreement between Holst and Nader that they secure Hrym together, while Claude/Khalid leads his forces to defeat the revived Nemesis at Shambhala. As with current canon, beating Edelgard and reading Hubert's note does allow Rhea to be freed, but I'd change it where Rhea would refuse to work with a heretic like Claude/Khalid. She would attempt to fight the Agarthans herself in a frenzy before you can get there back her up, which would be how she gets the injuries that she soon succumbs to.

This way, all four routes could see all four leaders as being somewhere between their best and worst depending on if you side with them or not:

• Claude:
  • At best: A uniter of people, who has learned personal responsibility
  • At worst: A scheming war profiteer and people user
• Dimitri:
  • At best: A classical hero who has learned from humbling experience
  • At worst: An entitled, manipulated puppet of others
• Edelgard:
  • At best: A visionary reformer who has learned to open her heart
  • At worst: A stubborn extremist for whom the ends justify the means
• Rhea:
  • At best: A matured individual who has learned to cede control, and trust others to choose their own paths
  • At worst: A zealot who no longer allows for human dissent from her guidance