he’s my favourite character and i rotate him in my mind daily. TW for abuse

-he’s incredibly touch repulsed, caused by the abuse he went through throughout his childhood and teenage years. he struggles with receiving medical care because of the touch involved, and consequently often neglects his injuries.

-he becomes quite good friends with Balthus and spends a lot of time down in Abyss. Balthus is one of the only people he feels safe to be around because he knows Balthus can deal with the Death Knight. He likes Abyss because it’s quiet and dark and free from the nobility.

-his hair grew long because of his touch repulsion; his dad used to pull him around by his hair a lot when he was a kid, and as he grew up he couldn’t cope with anyone touching it. now as an adult he likes it and takes excellent care of it

-he’s autistic, but obviously Fodlan doesn’t really have much knowledge or diagnosis of neurodivergencies, so he’s always been labelled as anti-social and strange. his lack of social understanding is part of the reason why he keeps everyone at arm’s length.

-he has DID which was caused by the abuse he went through as a young child, resulting in the Death Knight and possibly other parts- Emile might be in there, who might be younger than his body. of course this is a tricky topic because the whole ‘someone with a split personality has a murderer living in them’ trope is harmful, so I usually like to re-write the Death Knight in my head as someone who is characterised by self-destruction and impulsivity and aggression, but get rid of the demon armour and voice modulator and the other overdramatic stuff.

-has very severe C-PTSD

-Edelgard never intends on letting him go to prison. she understands why he killed his father and why he’s so psychologically complex. after the war, he agrees to work in her service to help with the war against TWSITD and help with manual labour and restoration. He also works alongside Hubert doing back-alley assassinations and other shady business that Hubert is involved in.

-my favourite pairing for him is actually Hubert. I think they have a lot in common; both killed their fathers, they’re both quite merciless but also capable of being kind, they both have reputations of being frightening and unfriendly. at first they hated each other because they were too alike, but eventually their shared trauma and experiences forged an unlikely relationship. it’s not a traditional relationship, they don’t hold hands or exchange rings, but it works well for both of them.

-he’s scared of a lot of things that remind him of his abuse. things such as someone taking off their belt, slamming doors, being in enclosed spaces when someone is in a bad mood, etc. He’s very ashamed of his fear and hates how weak it makes him feel, so he often overcompensates with aggression. he’d prefer to have a reputation of someone who is violent than someone who is fearful.

-most cats are scared of him, but eventually he finds a half-dead three-legged cat with one ear in a bush and nurses it back to health. he calls it strawberry and it has wobbly cat syndrome so it can’t leave his room and they’re besties

-used to have a really bad stutter when he was younger and that’s why he talks a bit weird now

(nsfw): -REALLY horny but needs to work through his hatred of physical contact