Fire Emblem is one of the types of JRPGs where building and crafting flourishing relationships is encouraged. As a result, the fandom makes plenty of great fan art featuring characters from the franchise, but which are the most popular relationships or “ships?”
I went to fanfiction mothership Archive of Our Own, or AO3 as it is known, and checked out what the most published stories are concerning Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
Part of me is susprised to see characters like Dorothea and Petra being non-existent in the ranking for ships with the most stories, but at least Edelgard made it to the top of the list.
Some of the most popular characters outside of “Byleth,” who is the character you play and can rename, are Dimitri, Felix, and Claude.
Dimitri is the Prince of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. When we meet him at the beginning of the series he is dealing with the PTSD of surviving a massacre that took his stepmother, father, and many others. As a result of the trauma, he has developed a darker side to his personality that he tries his best to keep under control.
I’m not surprised, considering all his sadness, that writers would want him to be comforted. He is one-half of the second most popular ship, which includes Byleth. Sadly, in the game you are not allowed to have an endgame relationship with Dimitri if your character is male, so fanfiction allows people to circumvent that.
The most popular ship fanfiction-wise is Felix and Sylvain, two childhood friends. Felix in the game has a lot of female options and so does Sylvain, who is the skirt chaser of the group. However, they have an endgame where they end up together and while it is made ambiguous in English, if they are paired up it is said that they become so close that they pass away on the same day. You love to see it.
Edelgard and Byleth is a sweet relationship in the game canon and is something you can do regardless of gender. I could see why it would be fun to continue exploring their bond together.
Ferdinand and Hubert is a ship that seems weird on the surface since Herbet is the cold right hand to Edelgard while Ferdinand sees himself as a rival to Edie. Plus has eleven potential wives, the highest total in the game after Byleth. But, when you do support him and Hubert, their entire journey is realizing that despite being foils and initially not liking each other—they are perfect together.
Claude should be bisexual, but sadly he is not, and he is another character you can’t romance fully unless it is with a female character. Claude is the charming and flirty leader of the Leicester Alliance and the Golden Deer. His endings with male characters don’t hint at any romance, but thankfully, fanfiction can correct that. Outside of Byleth, he also gets paired with Dimitri.
The biggest shock for me is that Annette and Felix made it so high on the list. Heteronormative couples? On my AO3? Okay.
Annette is the sweet, intelligent daughter of a knight who has some sweet support conversations with Felix who encourages her to write songs. I see the appeal. Mean bishie boy, with a sweet cinnamon roll.
Caspar (loud axe boy) and Linhart (sleepy magic boy) is a beautiful case of opposites attracting, plus they are also a case of childhood friends having known each other since they were six years old.
Finally, Byleth and Seteth. It is revealed throughout the game that Seteth is, along with Rhea, a child of the Goddess. While he is no longer able to transform into a dragon, he is a powerful stoic figure who loves his daughter, fishing, and starts off very suspicious of you as the lead character. Enemies to friends to lovers? Plus, he’s got a secret soft side.
Any surprises in this list? What ships do you enjoy in Three Houses?
(via Ao3, image: Nintendo)
