Azure Moon: The Musical - Profound Ties that Bind (Original Lyrics)

Scenario: As the Kingdom army strengthens its forces, Dimitri and the Blue Lions focus their efforts on capturing the Empire’s strongest defense: the Impregnable Fortress. With the Death Knight as the keep’s commander, Mercedes steels herself as she catches a glimpse of him clad in black armor with a scythe in hand. “Dear Emile… as your big sister, I’ll bring you back to your senses,” she mutters to herself. Family fighting on opposite sides… Mercedes prays the “Profound Ties that Bind” them will be enough for him to stand down. Meanwhile, Dimitri somberly awaits the day when he too must face his family in battle.

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NOTE: Spoilers for Azure Moon and Crimson Flower routes are below!

Personal Notes: As I mentioned in my last community post, I’ve been working on this since October last year. Initially, I wanted to start working on “Roar of Dominion,” but completing CF really endeared me to Jeritza. Whether it was getting more insight into his childhood to his unexpected (but adorable) sweet tooth, I loved getting to know him as “Emile." Now… I actually didn’t recruit Mercedes (aka his big sister) in CF, but OH MY GOSH I regretted it when I watched Jeritza’s supports with Mercedes because my heart SHATTERED when I learned that Jeritza a) told their mother to escape House Bartels with Mercedes without him because he knew that going with them would cause his father to hunt them down and b) slayed his father after learning that the latter wanted to marry Mercedes (his stepdaughter mind you) to bear more crest babies. It’s sad because Mercedes believed that she abandoned her little brother and that it was her neglect that caused his Death Knight persona. However, all of what Jeritza did was to protect her and their mother. It’s extra sad because Mercedes doesn’t get this kind of closure in AM and witnesses Jeritza’s death with her guilt still intact. So, with the theme of family fighting each other, I knew that “Profound Ties that Bind” would be the song to depict that. As for the lyrics… I do have a couple of tidbits I want to share in the process of writing them:

“Black armor in sight drips with memories/Of winds brushing the roses we’ve tended as three”
• This is a reference to Jeritza’s A support with Constance where he revealed that he used to tend roses with Mercedes and his mother.

“The blue skies above us/Envelop us just like old times”
• Similar to how “blue skies” in “Between Heaven and Earth” was used to refer to memories during the academy, I felt that “blue skies” in “Profound Ties that Bind” can also refer to Mercedes’ memories of fond moments with her little brother.

“But his path is fraught with sleeping the sleep of/Our unyielding swords”
• “Sleeping the sleep of/Our unyielding swords” is a reference from a kenning used in Beowulf. A kenning is a compound or figurative phrase that replaces a noun. “Sleeping the sleep of the sword” is a kenning for “death.” Many thanks to my mythology course for introducing me to kennings XD

“Every fish has to climb”
• Basically Byleth’s version of the phrase “when pigs fly,” which is a phrase used to indicate something as impossible.

“Every rose has its thorns/I’ve been one since I was born
• As we know from Mercedes’ support with Sylvain, Mercedes’ mother remarried Baron Bartels in which they later had a child together. That child was Jeritza. However, because Mercedes’ stepfather only married her mother to have a child with a crest (which Jeritza did have), he basically tossed Mercedes and her mother aside. That’s why I think “roses have thorns” is the perfect figure of speech to encapsulate the circumstances surrounding both the good and bad of Jeritza's birth.

“Your notions of death reeks of memories/Of days brushing off warm hands extended to me”
• I can’t help but wonder what a support between Dimitri and Jeritza would look like since they’re similar in the sense that they both viewed themselves as monsters and are forced to fight their sisters. Dimitri in AM, however, is able to start healing with the help of Byleth’s warm hands and his comrades. Jeritza, on the other hand, does not have anyone he can confide in. It’s really sad the more I think about it.

Phew!! That was a lot haha. Thanks for reading all the way down here if you made it this far. Next song will either be “Roar of Dominion” or “Indomitable Will!"

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Concept, vocals, and lyrics by me!
Lyrics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L...
Portrait border designs: https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/c...

Azure Moon: The Musical Playlist:    • Azure Moon: The Musical  
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