#possessed!berkut

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

It kinda bugs me how often the lookism in Fire Emblem is overlooked. Fire Emblem always makes minor and unsympathetic bosses hideously ugly.

Its to the point where I can recognize any antagonist that is attractive with anime eyes will get a tragic backstory, show redeeming qualities, or be possessed/brainwashed, usually by someone ugly, EX: Eremiya, Aversa, Berkut.

Also its annoying how whenever this is brought up, there's always one person that says "Fire Emblem does not equate evil equals ugly, *insert sympathetic and tragic villain* is beautiful", as if that disapproves anything.

!!!

[felikatze]

emblem rinea emblem rinea emblem rinea

good morning june. you are getting. my scrunchies. EMBLEMS BERKUT & RINEA. my fan emblems are made for an AU by @thanatophagency !!! He told me about his Very Very Cool Alear-Veyle roleswap and I thought. "wwhat if. it had different emblems." and then i went hogwild.

SO!!! Berkut and Rinea are, of course, a Duo Emblem. They are also: Firene's Emblem. YKnow how Firene is very very much like Zofia.

(Berkut fucking hates it here and it's Rinea's ongoing psychological campaign to make him smell the flowers)

All my fan emblems have a less... protagonisty slant. They're either all antagonists or got possessed at some point, lmao. (It's thematic to the AU, and it's fun.) IDK if salem actually wants to use these for his AU but I'M having fun and since he only thinks about Alear it means I get to think about roleswap Veyle as much as I want.

So I also had the thought of. "Hey. since we swapped ONE pair of older-younger siblings.... what if. we swapped all of them." so now the younger siblings get to be the plot important ones.

Which means Berkut and Rinea end up with Celine, and as I was thinking about them at like, 1am last night, I did actually hit cinematic parallels. Celine thinks, knows, that she'll be queen one day. That Alfred's rule will not last long. She is prepared for it.

So Berkut and Rinea confront her with a possibility: What if he doesn't? What if you never become queen? What if all your efforts go to waste? Who will you be then? Who are you outside of being a princess? And hearing that from a guy who literally died trying to become emperor is very scary to her. And it's Rinea who helps her grow comfortable with the thought that one day Celine may just be herself, and nothing more. (And in the process also helps Berkut get some closure.)

Much like Sigurd, the two recall their deaths. And they recall their promise to meet together in the afterlife. Despite how bitter Berkut is, that's exactly what Rinea views being an Emblem as, and goddammit she's going to enjoy it. She and Celine hold tea parties :) Even though Rinea can't drink as an Emblem, Celine pulls out the most fragrant teas she has so they can still pretend. It's nice.

I also had a fun thought that, as a dark emblem, they take on the appearance of their last battle. Berkut insane with the purple smoke, Rinea all burned and witch-y. This guideline applies to all my emblems pretty much because it's fun!! Out of Salem's AU four hounds, I'd probably give this Emblem to Pandreo.... burned up by devotion, and all that... narrative parallels....

And that's the story stuff!!!

NOW TO MY FAKE GAMEPLAY!!!!

(I claim no guarantee that this would actually be a good and balanced Emblem in the game itself. I'm just having fun and laying out a general powerset for them helps make AU stuff. Ok.)

(You will also be getting my director's commentary on this.)

(This is definetely my Most Well Baked emblem just from a completion standpoint)

Berkut and Rinea - Emblem of Devotion

Alternate title: Emblem of the Scions (bcuz. Scions' Dance in Purgatory. yknow)

Invocation: Dance with us, Emblem of Devotion! (I'm a sucker for the ballroom dance scene and their ballroom feh alts. I might need to workshop this one depending on how Emblem Ninian shakes out.)

Engage Attack: Waltz Of Embers. Teleport an enemy within 10 tiles toward the user and strike them with a powerful Lance and Magic attack. Mystical: +5 range. Backup: enable chain attacks.

This one's!! So fun!! It's intended as a "reverse warp ragna" more or less. Based primarily on the fact that Rinea has Entrap in Echoes and she will not hesitate to use it so Berkut can kill you instantly. Embers obviously bcuz of the burning stuff, and Waltz bcuz. they like to dance :) Maybe the animation is the engaged unit dancing with Rinea as the enemy comes in and they Kill.

You could so cheese bosses with that. Who needs Astrastorm to proc aggro when you get a free 15 range guaranteed hit Entrap. (I cheesed two bosses with Entrap it was great.)

Engage weapons!!

Rhomphaia: Deals effective damage against armors and cavalry. +2 Speed when equipped. This one isn't really associated with Berkut, but it's a unique lance to Echoes. Same way Roy just has the Lancereaver because it's a FE6 Sword.

Seraphim: Effective against Corrupted. Listen I know this is Celica's, but Celica isn't here, and it's the only offensive magic Rinea has.

Kriemhild: 3-range lance that boosts def and res by +5. You'd think this is OP, but I've actually nerfed it by removing its innate skill. What the fuck, Berkut. This is definetely a bond lv15 thing.

Sync Skills:

Burning Echo: Sacrifice HP to gain Atk (-3hp for +1atk on a single turn. Amount chosen at will.) [When engaged only]. This one's intended as a counterpart to Celica's Resonance skill, except with this one, you can go big or go home. I'd image it would have an upper limit in an actual game, but the idea that you can put yourself at 1hp and use the remaining 60 to oneshot a boss is really funny. Based on Echoes' magic system.

Wildfire: Increases hit and avoid by +10. Increase by +5 oer A-Support partner within 3 spaces. This one is based on Rinea's passive skill in Echoes! I added the support based effect since Berkut and Rinea are the only enemies with anything like this. Considering that Veyle would A support with anybody, you could totally turn her into a situational dodge god.

Phantasm: Halves damage taken from magic and bows. This is what I nerfed Kriemhild with - by moving this to skills instead of having it be innate to the weapon. It could be percentage based, honestly, but eh, I like coming up with the names, not with the numbers

And that's Emblems Berkut & Rinea!!! My beloveds!!

[judgeanon]

Plastic Skies - Model 13: F-15E Strike Eagle "Garuda 1"

Near the end of last year, I bought a sheet of bootleg decals to make my Mobius-1 F-22 Raptor (as seen here!). The sheet had a lot more decals than just the Mobius ones. Some were for planes I had no interest in doing, some ended up in my old decal-less Berkut model, and some inspired the model I'd end up building right after the Area 88 Tiger. After all, I knew sooner or later I'd end up making an F-15. Even if I'm not its biggest fan.

Yeah, yeah, I dunno, I just don't like the F-15 Eagle. I know it's the backbone of the USAF and a fantastic plane and it does everything and the story of how it was conceived is super funny, but there's something about it that just doesn't spark anything in me. It's just... a fighter plane. Much like the Flanker platform, it always felt like the most standard example of Fighter Jet to me, without the cool swing wings of the Tomcat or the sleek small shape of the F-16. There's no such thing as a boring fighter jet, but the F-15 is close.

That's not to say we don't have some history. One of the last models my brother built back when we were kids was an absolutely massive (for us) 1/48 scale Eagle. As with all our models, it was glued together and not much else, and I distinctively remember it losing one of its tail fins somewhere underneath a bed. Still, the thing was huge to us, and I always remember it as the biggest model we ever had. But that's about as much fondness as I have for the Eagle.

Or at least, as much as I had until Ace Combat happened.

Although the Eagle is very prominent in several AC games, the important one for this model is Ace Combat 6: Fires of Rubi--I mean Fires of Liberation, for the Xbox 360. This was one of the very last Ace Combat games I tried during my "I want to play all of them phase", since although PS1, PS2, PSP and 3DS emulation are all pretty good right now, Xbox 360 emulation is not quite there, and has apparently been not quite there for years now. I should know, I tried. But earlier this year, a very generous and dear friend of mine offered me an old Xbox 360 which he'd come into possession and was using to try some cool hacker stuff. And soon, I was finally getting to play AC6.

The game itself is great, as are all Ace Combats. It has a really interesting "large-scale battle" system, where different units are doing their own thing and you can choose which ones to support. It has the first appearance of high-g turns, which I love. It has a killer soundtrack, but that's no surprise. It has a really frustrating boss fight followed by a really amazing final level. And it has one of the most gloriously OP fictional jets in the series. Its story isn't quite as engaging as the PS2 games but I'm very glad I played it. And as seen above, the game's cover star is the F-15E, a plane for which I already had the decals to make.

So as I was finishing up the Tiger, I knew what the next project would be.

This was also going to be my first Academy model kit. Academy is a Korean model kit company that as far as I can tell sits quite comfortably in the middle ground of model kit quality. They make decent stuff for a good price with solid plastic quality, although some reviewers note a few glaring accuracy issues. I don't really care about accuracy when it comes to models, especially not at the price I found this, so I got to work pretty quickly.

The cockpit was the first step. Emboldened by my work on the Tiger, I tried to really make it shine this time, adding those little extra dabs of red to the flightsticks and other touches. Unfortunately, the decal sheets were a bit too wide for the panels, so they ended up getting warped and stretched. It looks pretty bad, but once inside the plane, I figured it wouldn't be visible. And I was right! Althouh what is visible are some of the corners where I skimped or forgot to paint, something which I'm definitely trying to work on in my latest kits.

The main fuselage was a much easier fit than the Raptor, although not quite as easy as the Tiger. The Eagle is a big motherfucker, after all, so putting it together requires a lot of pressure in different spots. Unfortunately, it also resulted in some plastic melting around a few corners, but only in the underside, and only on one wing. It was still a good lesson that made me want to invest in better cement, but it'd take a while for me to actually do it.

I decided the next step would be the nozzles, which is where this particular kit goes a bit fucking nuts. The F-15's thrusters feature external fairing arms for their variable geometry nozzles, which is way easier to explain with a picture:

And if you're observant, you can go back to that first picture of all the model's sprues and see how this kit handles that. But just in case:

The parts in green are the 30 (!) parts necessary to build just the two exhaust nozzles. The parts in orange are Academy offering people who aren't insane a way out, with two fully built nozzles with "turkey feather" panels instead of the arms. Which is very thoughtful of them, but after 12 models, I guess I was feeling a bit insane.

Admittedly, it wasn't rough sailing. The panels themselves didn't fit as well as I would've liked, and the faring arms required a very delicate touch. Still, I figured it'd all look at least decent once I went in with my beloved burnt iron paint, and sure enough, the end result was mostly fine.

Around this time, I started running into what's become my weak point this far into model building: indecisiveness. It's easy to think that models are "put them together first, then paint, then decals, then varnish, then panel lining, then clear coat", and some cheap kits are perfectly capable of following that order. But the more experienced I get and the bigger kits I try, the more I find myself playing with that order, doing things like painting certain parts of the plane first before gluing, or even fully detailing things like tail wings before I'm even done painting the fuselage.

Which sounds smart and is the way to do until you're staring at four different tasks and you just don't know what you should start on now. In this model's case, one of the biggest problems was armaments.

This isn't even all of it, btw. This is still missing the eight other missiles I also had to paint. Though I will say, as messy as the yellow tips on the Mk 82 bombs are, I'm still a little proud of the way I figured out to paint them roughly similar:

It's not perfect, but nothing is. However, the armaments thing was something that bothered me all the way to the end of the build.

Painting the fuselage was a way different story. One of the reasons why I chose AC6's F-15 was precisely because it's just one big color. No camo jobs, no masking tape save for the yellow bits on the tail wings, just me and my brushes and a newly bought box of Revell Greenish Grey paint. That paint is... an odd one. Looks absolutely disgusting when wet, like the insides of a toilet after eating some very unhealthy food, but once it dries out and especially once varnished it looks... kinda cool? Kinda awesome? It just has way more personality than the usual air superiority grays of most USAF fighters.

The other part of the build that was surprisingly comfortable was the landing gear, since this model only has one door for each gear. Made the whole thing go by in a breeze, and before I knew it, I was already putting in the decals. At least the big ones. Admittedly, they're not 100% game accurate, since AC6 uses low visibility versions of the emblems and such, but they were there and I wasn't not gonna use them.

Panel lining was also shockingly easy for this kit. Although I'm still pretty lousy at it, the kit's panel lines were very well defined and easy to get the paint in. Compared to other kits I've had, this one was very well behaved when it came to this step. Sooner than I'd expected, the whole thing seemed almost ready to be done. I just had to finish the armaments and we'd be all done.

So... yeah. You might notice something missing here. As it turns out, this kit doesn't actually have enough parts to put the 12 green bombs I'd painted besides the Mk 82. They're supposed to go three alongside the edges of the conformal fuel tanks (where the missiles now are) and three on the little chunks poking out of the sides. But for whatever reason, this kit only has four of those little chunks instead of six. And due to some issues with the instructions, I think I also glued the ones it did have wrong.

On top of that, I had some issues gluing the hardpoints with the Sidewinders and Mk-82 bombs to the wings, mostly because hey, protip: gluing stuff that's already painted and varnished is waaaay harder than gluing stuff when it's fresh off the box. But I just had to be a smart boy and get all the panel lining done first... Very frustrating, especially after realizing this, too, isn't game accurate. But it'd never really been my goal to make something perfectly accurate to the game. Like with the Raptor, like with every kit I make, I'll always choose what looks good to me over what looks closer to the real (or virtual) thing.

Eventually, the whole thing was done. Painting the cockpit was tricky but I've lost a lot of my old fears about it these days. And once the whole thing was varnished, I found myself really liking what I was seeing. The long nose, the beefy wings, the shiny engines... Maybe I'd been wrong about the F-15 all this time. Maybe it isn't really a boring jet. Maybe I just needed to let it back into my heart. And although it gave me a real tough time in a bunch of places, at the end it's low-key one of my favorite models so far, and a nice homage to an unsung game.

And it looks pretty cool on the Area 88 base too.

[crookedorel]

zinnia : how has the loss of fallen comrades and/or loved ones affected your muse ? has it taught them anything or given them any new perspectives ? >:)

Okay let's talk about loss, actually. Loss is such an important theme in Shadows of Valentia, and in the character arcs of its entire cast. If I were feeling ambitious I'd argue that loss and the way that it's handled is The Theme, which shaped the forming of the nations, to kicking off the plot, and the negative space of each of the cast's loss is so visible and apparent in every action they take, like an embrace of those they don't want to or can't forget. 

But that's an essay for another time. 

Berkut being one of the major antagonists, and foil to the two protagonists, his losses affect the plot just as heavily. There is of course the obvious, and we'll discuss those in a minute, but I actually want to discuss a loss that doesn't get brought up in-game but has such clear and disastrous ramifications for Valentia as a whole. 

Because you see, when Berkut was a boy, his father died. 

(Cut for length. You know how it goes. SOV spoilers as well)

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Oh, boo hoo, this is Dead Father the Series, and you don't see anyone else letting themselves get possessed by a war god and sacrificing their loved ones' souls for greater power." And you're right! But bear with me, because there's more to it than that. 

To start putting this into context, I'm going to pull from Valentia Accordion (the Berkut entry in which was translated by our very own Ree, here's your crown regent 👑). We learn from Berkut's section that before his father's passing, Berkut was a timid boy, to the point that even riding horseback made him cry - and after his father's passing, his mother raised him quite strictly, to harden him up so that none could tease him for growing up without a father. 

As with most things Valentia, this is such a dense sentence, so let's unpack it a bit.  

Obviously that's a fucked up thing to expect, that your child will be harassed for having lost a parent, but kids are cruel, and from this sentence we learn that Rigel values patrilineal lines, and to an extreme extent. Since they're the imperial family with very few heirs, it seems incredibly unlikely that Berkut's father married below his station (bordering on impossible – this is no Meghan Markle situation) - and since Berkut obviously ended up the crown prince, the heir to the empire barring any usurpers, his mother clearly retained influence within the imperial court during her time there, as noble and mother to the future Emperor. 

And yet, a single mother, even widowed, still casts a shameful shadow in Rigel. We do not learn how Berkut's father died, but I'm of the opinion it was illness, for a couple of reasons: first, we have historical precedent. Generally in monarchical families that have multiple sons, the first (the heir) learns military affairs and politics, the better to ascend the throne or position when the time comes – the second (the spare) would then learn ecclesiastical affairs and gain a position in the religious affairs of the state, the better to support his brother further down the line. 

Secondly, his death is implied to be something to be ashamed of, something that children would tease Berkut for. Though misogyny runs strong in many cultures, it doesn't seem enough that his mother would be concerned that his father dying on its own would be enough that Berkut would need to toughen up. Given that Rigel has such a strong martial culture, and the hard turn that Berkut's mother imposed upon him after her husband's death, it would follow that for men, there is one acceptable death: battle. 

As we know, I don't put a lot of stock into Heroes' characterization, but occasionally they give us nice little nuggets, such as this one, from A Splendid Soiree level 40: 

Unlike his older brother the emperor, my father was a kind, gentle man. He passed ere I was 10 years old. My mother smiled often when I was small.  

If nothing else, it seemed, Berkut's mother was determined to ensure that, for better or worse, Berkut did not end up like his father. 

And he didn't. Kind and gentle are not words that I would associate with Berkut, except specifically when he's interacting with Rinea – but even with that influence, we see that he is definitely a young man shaped by his upbringing, and by the culture around him. He's eager to fight, even to the point of what I would consider emotional immaturity – he's unable to see human lives for what they are, and when he first meets Alm he refers to the battle as practice, as sport, as exercise, like it's just a game that he's playing. 

I think it's this disconnect that he has, this inability or the inexperience to actively practice empathy (decidedly not a value in Rigel), that makes him so susceptible to outside influences: be that Rigelian people or culture as a whole, or Rudolf's or his mother's, Duma's or Nuibaba's, or even Fernand's. 

Yes, Fernand's. Despite the fact that Fernand is a political prisoner, it is undeniable that he has more worldly experience (in and out of wartime) than Berkut by the simple fact of his age. We don't have an official age for him, but we can get a good guestimate based on Clive and Mathilda's ages – 27 and 28, respectively. A full decade, at the very least, older than Berkut.  

Now, this is not to say, of course, that Fernand knowingly exerted any influence over Berkut, or manipulated him – but it is to say that teenagers of Berkut's general disposition are eager to show off, and will adjust the behaviors they display in order to impress the people around them, especially those who are older or more experienced. And with Fernand himself leaning so idealistic, wanting to see something specific, it seems clear to me that natural showman Berkut was eager to mold himself into that, and to show it off at any opportunity. 

Which, by the way, is something that Berkut is shown doing throughout the game, in each of his appearances – mirroring the expectations presented to him, molding himself to fit into whatever those opposite him have decided he should be, and being so proud that he gets a good grade in being manipulated. 

Now, I know it seems like we're getting off topic, and that I'm trying to avoid the elephant in the room, but I promise I'm not – this is all incredibly important context for what comes next, which of course that he, under the influence of Duma's possession, sacrifices Rinea. 

 By this point, he has lost to Alm multiple times – with an audience, no less – he has called upon the magic pushed on him by breaking the mirror Nuibaba gave him, and he has learned that this stranger who has been defeating him all over the country is actually the one who is supposed to be the emperor's heir. Not only has Alm beaten him in battle in front of someone Berkut wanted to impress, but he has, seemingly without any of the effort Berkut has been putting in over the last several years to gain Rudolf's favor, jumped the line of succession, and is coming to take not just Rigel, but Berkut's father figure. 

The second father he has lost. 

Watching the scene wherein Duma fully possesses Berkut, or even just reading the script, you can feel that the ground ready to open under his feet, and his grip over his own mental autonomy is tenuous at best. He is paranoid, he lashes out, and most importantly, he's confused. The scene begins by explicitly telling us that he does not know how he arrived at Duma Temple, and he is immediately beset by Duma's presence, the voice of a god offering the power that Berkut has felt slipping from his fingers. 

Whether he explicitly accepted Duma, or whether Duma forced his way in, we do not know. What we do know, however, is that the change in his personality is immediate and obvious. Both Rinea and Fernand clock that whoever is speaking, it isn't the Berkut they know – by this point, though, it's too late, and he attacks and heavily injures both of them, with Fernand making it far enough to warn Alm, and with Rinea being sacrificed to Duma. 

However much of Berkut remained during his battle of Alm, it's clear from his battle quote that all of these losses, one right after another, lined up in a perfect queue of dominoes, and gripped him until his death: 

You… You took…everything from me. You will SUFFER for what you’ve done! 

Then, after his defeat: 

Alm: Why, Berkut? To have finally found family after all this time… Why did it come to this?!  Berkut: Heh… I have no family…nor do I want for one. 

To put a bow on the series of tragedies that shaped Berkut into a man he didn't want to be, the family and companionship that he so desperately needed had arrived, had knocked the sense back into him just in time for him to die. 

But not before one final chastisement, from the one person who had never asked him to be anything except himself: 

Rinea: Dear, proud Berkut… Even without crown or throne or castle… You were ever my emperor. A just, right, and noble man…  Berkut: Rinea…  Rinea: You were born to lead… This just wasn’t your empire. So come with me now. Let us find our empire together. If you’ll still take me for your empress?  Berkut: You’re right… You were always right. The moment I turned to a power beyond myself, the man you loved was dead. Rinea, forgive me… If you’ll have me, I’d be honored to…set out with you… 

For better or worse, from his mother's influence, Berkut had not ended up like his father in his death – but, in the matter of the woman he loved, perhaps he wasn't so different. 

[izunias-meme-hole]

My Top 10 Favorite Fire Emblem Characters 

Number 1. Edelgard Von Hresvelg - I would repeat several points about why her fans like her, and also explain just how in the wrong she is, but there’s a simpler way to explain why I love Edelgard. She’s the best take on the Rudolf Archetype in the entire series. She’s calculated, arrogant, and self-righteous, yet she’s also very charming, likable, and had a good end goal that can resonate with some people, despite the way she intended to go about it. Her character basically mixes the best aspects of the Rudolf Archetype, and places them into a single character, without making her seem unoriginal. Overall, Edelgard is the most well done villain the series has ever had. Long live the Flame Emperor!

Number 2. Ashnard - King Ashnard of Daein was truly a Mad King. Throughout Path of Radiance, he’s mostly in his hideout, but he’s authorized so many warcrimes, the carnage he causes is told to Ike and the mercenaries, his soldiers both fear and respect him, every time we DID see him talking with his men it became clearer how deranged he is, and overall he was a well built up final boss with a GIGANTIC BLOODLUST. However the best thing about him is that while he’s this hammy psycho on the surface, underneath that expressive exterior is a clever asshole of a man with a darwinist ideology. Ashnard believes that only the strong can thrive in life, and hates the caste systems in other countries because it grants positions of power to people he deems as “unworthy.” In his eyes, if you want to increase your status, you need to fight tooth to nail and prove that you’re strong. Hell, he wasn’t even upset at the notion of dying because in his eyes, if he dies it means that he was overpowered or that he slipped up. HELL WHEN HE DOES DIE HE IS JUST LAUGHING, BEGGING THE PARTY TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT, AND SPEWING SOME BULLSHIT ABOUT AN ASCENSION! So yeah, this guy is not called the Mad King for nothing.

Number 3. Arvis - The best way to describe Arvis is a “Male Prototype Edelgard”, however the difference between them is clear. Despite also being a morally ambiguous figure dubbed “The Flame Emperor,” Arvis was the BASTARD that got what he wanted, until karma hit him like a truck when he got backstabbed by the Gharnef of his game, and his own son a few years later. I could go into more detail about this guy, like how he killed the first protagonist of the game and married his girlfriend not long after, but Geneology of The Holy War is a long ass game, and there is a LOT to say about this guy. Also he’s the first Rudolf that relies on magic rather than swords, axes, spears, and armor. So yeah, Arvis is dope.

Number 4. Lyon - To think that a member of the Gharneff Archetype is the most tragic villain in the series. The man tried to bring back his dad with dark magic, and immediately got taken over by the demon king, Fomortiis. This alone doesn’t just make him good, because Lyon isn’t just possessed, every single one of his traits ended up becoming twisted, and hidden feelings were put on full display in the WORST ways possible, and at the end of the game, he becomes nothing but a souless puppet for Fomortis to use. The way he’s written is similar to how Sephiroth was written in Crisis Core, except more pittiful, which helps hammer in exactly what kind of man and villain Lyon is. Overall Lyon is a walking mess of a human being that ended up becoming a hollow shell of a man controlled by the Demon King.

Number 5. Berkut - Edelgard would HATE this guy. Berkut was the embodiment of pride, entitlement, and insecurity. He was Emperor Rudolf’s nephew, one of the most skilled combatants in Rigel at such a young age, and had a very cool and nice fiancé named Rinea. So what happened? He got his ass beat by a farmboy named Alm, who also happened to be Rudolf’s son, and after that an entire domino effect happened, which resulted in Berkut falling into despair. Then in his moment of despair, the God of Strength and Father of Rigel, Duma, whispered into his ear, and Rinea began trying to cheer up Berkut at the EXACT moment that he was going nuts, which resulted in the bastard sacrificing his fiancé for the sake of power. And after all of that he is finally killed by Alm. Well, at least he’s Dancing In Purgatory now. As much as I love how Rudolf was done in Shadows of Valentia, Berkut was its breakout character for a reason. His slow degradation from this arrogant prick with big shoes to fill and some semblance of a heart, to a deranged madman that only lusts for power was done pretty well.

Number 6. The Black Knight, Zelgius - The Black Knight, Zelgius, is just great and is truly deserving of his own archetype. Between his design, his warrior mentality, his boss music, his dynamic with Ike, his simple and effective backstory, his connection to both of main villains of the Tellius Games, and overall just the sheer amount of menace and the FEAR factor he brings to the table everytime he’s on the map. However I do like his characterization in Path of Radiance characterization more than his Radiant Dawn characterization, mostly because I REALLY like how Path of Radiance introduces him as both an near-invincible threat and a very personal villain for Ike to face. The Black Knight may be a simple villain clad in black armor, but he’s still one of the best villains this series has produced.

Number 7. Camus/Zeke - The Camus Archetype is a character archetype in Fire Emblem reserved for knights who are loyal to their country and master, despite being admirable men and cool guys. A bad member of this archetype would ignore all reason and remain loyal to their country and master, despite being aware their a piece of shit, but the best members actually do realize the situation they’re in and do whatever they can to stop their former master. However no matter how many members of this archetype come into existence, there is only one General Camus of Grust. Or Zeke, if you’ve played Shadows of Valentia.

Number 8. Rhea/Serios - She is a genocide survivor, she’s got PTSD, she has mommy issues, she’s the most characterized “evil dragon person,” and so on. Overall what Rhea is to the Medeus Archetype is what Edelgard is to the Rudolf Archetype.

Number 9. Nergal - This guy is the only member of the Gharnef archetype I respect, that isn’t Lyon. On the surface Nergal looks like this generic madman who feeds off of life energy and wants to release dragons, but when you replay the game on Hector’s route, you soon see that his madness was the byproduct of being corrupted by dark magic, which he was researching in an attempt to find a way to get free half-dragon kids, Ninian and Nils. Still, when he did get corrupted, he became one of the series’s biggest bastards of all time. Overall, Nergal is genuinely underrated as a villain and character.

Number 10. Zephiel - Zephiel had no grand plan to change humanity for the better, or a plan to conquer the world and make it a hellscape. He just wanted to wipe out humanity and lend the world to the dragons. So basically he was a nihilist, but in the FE6 manga and FE7, we see that he started out as a kind boy that grew into a man worthy of being a king, so what happened to him? Well his jealous father, who had sent assassin’s to kill him in the past, tried to poison him, and was unsuccessful in doing so. Jesus, talk about mixing irredeemability with tragedy. Also props to him for being a consistent threat, despite not appearing often in game, not to mention he’s got one of the best attack animations in the series. Doesn’t matter if you love or hate him, you gotta respect the King of Bern.

[gascon-en-exil]

Wrt the whole witch Celica thing (sorry for the late response), my big problem with that moment is that on top of it being unnecessary as you mentioned, the game can't even commit to the bit. Like if the scene was there to manipulate the player's emotions and make it this dramatic "oh shit" moment, having a boss fight would've driven it home? Sure it would still be unnecessary and wouldn't fix the problems people had with that scene, but at least I can see that they're trying to commit to the whole "Alm's love interest has been brainwashed and he has to fight her" aspect, going full 100% with it. Kinda like how in a non FE example, Mario had to fight a possessed Peach in Paper Mario TTYD.

IDK, the whole "let's have Celica get captured and then possessed/brainwashed where she fights Alm" was probably added because someone in the writers department (likely Kusakihara) thought Echoes didn't have enough brainwashed/possessed damsels in distress.

This is very much a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Even reducing Celica to "Alm's love interest" flies in the face of the whole duality thing that Gaiden/Echoes at least claims to be going for...not that the developers seem to have cared very much about that.

Brainwashed/possessed damsels are a staple of FE, going all the way back to the Kaga era. And now there's even more reason for them to exist thanks to Heroes's Fallen alts. Echoes delivered its fair share of those with Celica, Delthea, and Berkut w/Rinea, and both of the other games released since FEH launched are/have been ripe for even more Fallen alts.

[chronic-chrobin-brainrot]

rinea IS hot

[benisasoftboi]

So did everyone complaining about Fallen Dimitri supposedly not fitting the theme just forget about Berkut or?

[caelin-ismycity]

*through loud speaker*

Zephiel baby- baby its me ok please come to the front of the store please come home i’ve spent 300+ orbs just to find you and bring you home and i’m planning on spending more when i have them but please come home i didnt even get a five star while looking i’m disappointed and sad but  not in you in myself so please come home--

[littlestgamer]

The reason we get duo Heroes now is cause we got two summon guns now, but they made it to that point in the story too late Hector was too impatient to wait until the next story chapter for it to make sense.

[joyfulpiefactory]

[felikatze]

WGAT FAN EMBLEMS DO YOU HAVE. ARE THEY MAIN VERSE OR XENOLOGUE

I HAVE A LIST. I explained in the other ask i answered uhhh just now (link here) these are technically xenologue by virtue of being AU. Veyle-Alear roleswap that I have insane thoughts about thank you Salem. Once again Berkut & Rinea are the most well baked from a gameplay standpoint but I have other ones....

Quick n dirty AU rundown: Veyle-Alear roleswap! Alear is with Sombron and an alternate set of Four Hounds (Lapis, Kagetsu, Pandreo, Zephia. Salem's blorbos), and Veyle was taken in by Lumera. I also took the liberty of making the younger royals the plot important ones.... teehee

My fan emblems trend antagonist and/or possessed for thematic reasons and because it's fun. HOWEVER I excluded most main antags from the pool because I don't think Emblem Medeus would be very interesting from a character standpoint.

I actually made a list!! So I'd have one from every game (this was also brainstormed with Salem lol). I don't have full knowledge of every FE ever and a lot of FEs I am significantly less insane about than The Usual Suspects (Binding Blade, Awakening, now Engage), so you do notice a lot of bias in what has the most detail, lmao.

Anyway. You get the list.

Archanea: Maria. (100% inspired by fell Maria in heroes, lol. LISTEN IT'D BE SO THEMATIC FOR VEYLE THO. Little girl who just wants her big siblings back. Maria would be Veyle's Marth - her first Emblem, and the one closest to her. I still gotta play the Archanea games but... the potential.)

Valentia: Berkut & Rinea (Firene Emblem. Elaborated on in the other post!!)

Jugdral (Fe4): I am not wise enough just yet.... probably Julius.

Jugdral (Fe5): I don't know <3 Ishtar? Reinhardt? Mareeta? I like the thought of Mareeta from what I know abt her actually.

Elibe (Fe6): IDUNN MY GIRL IDUNN. (She'd be Lumera's Emblem as Sigurd equivalent. Sleeping dragon guided by Sleeping Dragon... I love Idunn... I have Thoughts about her.... okay....)

Elibe (Fe7): Ninian (She's Elusia's Emblem!! I have thoughts about her & Hortensia...)

Magvel: Lyon (this was the one and only pick, really.)

Tellius (Fe9): Black Knight (Salem's suggestion, but it works! God I need to beat Radiant Dawn...)

Tellius (Fe10): My initial suggestion was Pelleas but Sothe is also tempting (god I need to beat Radiant Dawn.... 2!!!)

Ylisse: GRIMA. WHO ELSE. (i'd put him down where Corrin is, as the second Solm emblem. Haha Grima you got trapped in a desert temple again.) (Either that or I swap him with Lucina for funny points)

Fates: Takumi (conquest flavored! he is not doing too hot! He's Brodia's Emblem same reason as Berkut: it would remind him of Nohr and he hates being here. Has a soft spot for Alcryst, though. OF COURSE I gave him to Alcryst.)

Fodlan: Shez. For the funnies. (shez's super form is obviously the engaged look. I'd make them Solm's primary Emblem, because I feel like they and Fogado would be friends. But then Shez goes Revenge Mode and Fogado is like. dude. chill. you're scaring the hoes.)

And that's my full list!! The only ones who have gameplay ideas attached to them so far are Berkut & Rinea, Idunn, Takumi, and Shez, for a perfect gender ratio as I've non-biney'd Shez. Because of course I have.

[okapiandpaste]

Like dang berkut and rinea weren’t written very well but you could FEEL the potential. I just wish they’d shown more of their happy relationship bc the teeny memory we got of it was so sweet.

Hopefully their lil feh paralogue gives it to us bc they deserved a whole lot better.

[miraclelevellan]

Also glad neither Risen King Chrom or Berserk Ike are a thing,becuase neither of them are actually a thing. They are just cipher art. Sorry wait I think Ike touched the medallion when he was a kid?Is that what you want?Insane child Ike killing people?

[yumispelled]

{BERKUT} ---- “Rinea... Where is she...? Where did you go... Rinea?”

[berkut-rigel]

I've made a team with these four satanic princes/royals. Kinda proud of myself.