#kattalksfe

[katofvalentia]

I gave Cormag the honors of killing this psychopath on my current FE8 run. Watching him crit the fker was incredibly satisfying >:)c

[katofvalentia]

I am a Finn × Lachesis truther till the end of time but-

I can't help but love that you *can* read their relationship in Thracia 776 as sort of, how do you put it... "mutually unrequited"? As in by the time she leaves to search for Diarmud, both Lachesis and Finn pine for each other but neither really crossed the line. And it's not a strech knowing how Finn's sense of duty can be damaging to both himself and those around him (like Leif for example). Which is why that one conversation where Selfina calls him out is absolutely brilliant.

[katofvalentia]

Another Echoes ramble: Berkut edition, go!

I will open this up by saying that I enjoy this character, a lot. I think this mainly stems from the fact that Fire Emblem is a series where a lot of its major antagonists fall either into the role of problem dragon or evil cult, not that there is anything wrong with that mind you, I just appreciate some variety. Echoes was my 3rd FE, after Awakening and Fates, so I think that sorta explains my attachment to this character.

Now onto the actual opinion post!

The rest will be under the cut

From what I have seen, the general consensus around Echoes original characters is split, you either care about them or don't. I think they have been discussed at length already so for the sake of not getting off-topic, I will leave it at that.

I would like to talk about Berkut's role in overall narrative first.

Before Echoes, Alm's character didn't have its narrative foil. Celica does compliment what he lacks but is still not a foil in his story. The big enemies Alm faces aka. Rudolf, Jedah and ultimately Duma are not the true contrast to Alm. As he is part of Rudolf's plans, he inherits his wish (while Rudolf is also a martyr). Alm, like most Rigelians in the story, represents Duma's philosophy of strength and fortitude but not its extreme. Duma and Mila's extremes come from both dragon degeneration and their position as godlike figures of Valentia. And lastly Jedah, while being Alm's opposition, was not his foil, but rather he was Celica's. So naturally, the next step was to give him a proper foil for the remake. That is where Berkut comes in.

I had expressed this many times, but a big part of Alm's character (in Echoes at least) is how much he is attached to his own identity as Mycen's grandson. He goes with Lucas and ultimately accepts leading the Deliverance as Mycen's representative (according to what Clive had envisioned). He does what he does to carry on his legacy when Mycen refuses to do so himself, to honor his name and his blood, as he was led to believe all his life. His world shatters as the truth reveals itself.

Berkut, as Rudolf's nephew, was raised to be the next ruler of Rigel. He takes great pride in that, even during his first meeting with Rinea he uses his identity to present his own value. This is interesting when you consider Rudolf's lines in Fire Emblem Heroes, which directly state that Berkut was a shy boy in the past. Also worthy of note would be Rudolf's lv 40 convo in FEH where he admits that he could not bear to face Berkut due to his guilt over sending Alm away (and his overall grand scheme). Growing up in Rigel, the country that it is now, practically run by the extreme teachings of Duma's faith, around the hardened emperor Rudolf who strives towards his own goal for a better Valentia in self-isolation and many of the soldiers and generals following them, it is natural that Berkut would become arrogant and prideful. However what makes him different arround the other high ranking officials in Rigel is that his dependance on being the heir to the Empire is a sign of a deeply neglected inferiority complex. Every time his identity is threatened in the story due to his failures, he seeks attention from Rudolf but to no avail. And at every turn, a Duma faithfull is present to pull him down further, to mock him and use his insecurities for their own agenda of serving Duma. Just like with Alm, his world shatters once the truth reveals itself, the truth neither character can no longer try to deny.

----------------------------------------------------

Alm is not Mycen's grandson.

Berkut is not the heir to Rigel.

----------------------------------------------------

Alm is not allowed to crack, there is no peace for him, only a responsibility he is now forced to bear. He who was raised by Mycen, a former Zofian general with Rigelian origins, is basically told to deal with it, bcuz destiny or whatever. Alm had his friends to fall back on, the friends who followed him bcuz he was Alm of Ram Village, the people who followed him bcuz he proved to be a capable leader of the Deliverence and what he learned growing up with both strength and kindness. So while it was definitely hard to accept his new identity, not being alone (in a sense) and having a clear goal (to reach Celica), made it a bit easier.

But where does Berkut trully crack? Not immediately upon finding out that Alm is Rudolf's son, but when Rinea in his eyes "rejects his identity". Rinea, the kind girl that she is, loved Berkut. But to Berkut, the heir of Rigel's throne, her declaration that she would support him when he is just Berkut, seemed like a betrayal to him. At that moment, he grouped her with everyone else who pitied him. But how can the future Emperor of Rigel be pitied, that is surely not the way things are supposed to be??? And for that, the maddened Duma gave his blessings and strength that Berkut thinks is rightfully his, with the woman he loves by his side. Everyone else is wrong, what he was raised to be however, is correct.

Alm's journey was about a boy who did not think about the big picture at first, forced to expand his horizons as duty is thrust upon him multiple times. He had to grow out of thinking from just his perspective, as a Deliverence member, as a villager from Ram, as Mycen's grandson. Berkut however has chosen to remain narrow-minded, bcuz he had nothing else to fall back on aside from his own identity. And this narrow-mindedness proves to be his downfall, as well as Fernand's (his case is more complex tho) and Jedah's at that matter. Even at death's door, he doesn't suddenly change in that regard. I personally believe that Berkut hallucinates Rinea at the end (well I think that was the intention of the scene since nobody else reacts to Rinea herself), bcuz that reinforces everything that has been established about his character. Yeah he lost, but he is meant for even greater things, at least he thinks that himself.

While Jedah was meant to be the extreme of what Celica could have become if she surrendered herself to Mila's faith, Berkut was meant to be the human equivalent of Duma's extremes, as those extremes had shaped him into what he was. Rudolf ultimately made the right choice to send Alm away, bcuz he easily could have ended up like that, or even worse due to his destiny, when not even Rudolf could have been able to interfere.

"He is carried by his voice actor." I hear many tend to say about him. Well yes in fact, he is, mister Ian Sinclair did a phenomenal job portraying Berkut's charater, and I personally would say his performance is stronger than the one provided by his JP counterpart. Many characters in media are defined by their voices, be it the way they speak or through actual voice acting. So I don't think that saying "he is only good bcuz of his VA" is a real jab at his character imho.

Another thing I noticed is, I believe that in order to get attached to Berkut, you need to be invested either in Alm's character or story to a certain degree at the very least. Which is a testament to how much Berkut is a foil to Alm and how his addition to Echoes' story was a meaningful change.

[katofvalentia]

I should be posting art but I am too busy playing Fates for at least another 3 runs.

[katofvalentia]

A small Echoes related ramble:

While I do agree with the notion that the way the scenarios in Echoes were written to now include Conrad were not beneficial to Celica nor the way she was treated as a whole, I don't think his existence is unnecessary.

Celica's journey is about her internalizing her problems and not sharing the burden with any of the people who are close to her, not even her own brother who also tried to make her realize her self-destructive behaviour. The fact it's not just her friends but also her family that she puts in danger that way, strengthens her very relatable character flaws in my eyes.

Additionally I would like to say that Conrad existing proves for an interesting contrast between Alm and Celica's dynamics with their family members.

Celica was well aware of her father's mistakes as a ruler, she was aware of her station and her fate. She believed she had lost her brother for so many years and having Conrad appear before her lets her regain some of the lost pieces in regards to her life as Anthiese.

Alm meanwhile, was so certain of his connection with Mycen, he took pride in being known as his grandson. That was a big part of his identity, his foundation to improving as a fighter and commander. Once the truth of his lineage is revealed, he is told to deal with it. Alm doesn't even know how act around Mycen in their first 1 or 2 supports. His way of coping with all that was to desperately try to preserve his only remaining family member (Berkut) but he lost even that. In the end, Celica got back the brother she thought she had lost, while Alm lost the family he wished to keep.

[katofvalentia]

The user with the Leif icon has decided to replay Fire Emblem Thracia 776

[katofvalentia]

I love playing FE6, I enjoy moving all my units in 1 or 2 large groups just so they could kill 2 dudes at a time

My Rutger is level 11 and he only gained 1 point of STR :D

[katofvalentia]

I don't think I am alone when I say that a potential Genealogy remake is both sth that I crave for and sth that I am terrified from at the same time.

[katofvalentia]

OH HELL NAH

Not the "localization purists" from the Unicorn Overload s***show finding out about that "retranslated" Fire Emblem Echoes mod and praising it while saying Echoes' localization was abysmal

You literally cannot make this up

Of all Fire Emblem games-

You pick ECHOES to dog on for localization

Idk man I would not like to live in a reality where Lukas does not have some of the most fire quotes known to man simply bcuz someone wants a 1:1 translation without any care for all awkward sentences and dry character voices that brings in a narrative.

[katofvalentia]

I realized I don't have a pinned post for this sideblog. Anyway...

Hello good people! My name is Kat! To me, Fire Emblem is an illness that has been plaguing me since 2013. This small sideblog is dedicated to my ups and downs with this long running franchise, be it through rambles or whatever art I cook up. Below is a mini report on my current status with each of the games!

Games played: 18 out of 22

❎️Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light (FE1) - haven't played, no plans to play through it at the moment, did read its manga adaptations

❎️Fire Emblem Gaiden (FE2) - haven't played, no plans to play through it at the moment, did read its manga adaptation

❎️Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (FE3) - haven't played, planning to do so at some point in the future

✅️Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War (FE4) - played it and enjoyed it! read its various manga adaptations and novels

❎️BS Fire Emblem - have not played it, nor can I play it, have looked into its translated script

✅️Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 (FE5)- played it and enjoyed it! read its novel adaptation

✅️Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade (FE6) - played it and i thought it was ok, read its spin off manga "Hasha no Tsurugi"

✅️Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade (FE7) - played it and enjoyed it! have not read its novel adaptation, read a lot of fanfictions though

✅️Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (FE8) - played it and enjoyed it! have not read its novel adaptation

✅️Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (FE9)- played it and enjoyed it!

✅️Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (FE10)- played it and enjoyed it!

✅️Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (FE11) - played it, it was ok, have not read its adaptations

✅️Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light & Shadow (FE12) - played it, it was ok

✅️Fire Emblem Awakening (FE13) - my introduction to the series, played it multiple times and enjoyed it! experienced its various supplementary media and fan content

✅️Fire Emblem Fates (FE14) - played through Conquest multiple times, only seen playthroughs of Birthright and Revelation. overall I can say I liked it. experienced its various supplementary media and fan content

✅️Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE - played through the original as well as its rerelease and enjoyed it.

✅️Fire Emblem Heroes - played it for almost 2 years before dropping it for reasons, still keeping up with banners for the art as all as popularity polls and general story beats

✅️Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (FE15) - my favorite entry, played it multiple times and loved it every single time! experienced its various supplementary media and fan content

✅️Fire Emblem Warriors - have played it purely for certain characters and interactions, probably the most OK musou spin off there is

✅️Fire Emblem Three Houses (FE16) - played through all of its routes and enjoyed it! experienced its various supplementary media

✅️Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes - played through Golden Wildfire only, did watch playthroughs of the other two routes

✅️Fire Emblem Engage (FE17) - played it and enjoyed it, still experiencing its manga adaptation