#berkut fire emblem

[kastillia]

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

"Berkut was an entitled ass"

He was lied to pretty much his entire life for Rudolph's gambit to take out Duma by being told he was the de facto heir to the throne and groomed and raised like he was when Rudolph knew the entire time this wasn't going to happen. The guy made some hella big mistakes, but he found out his ENTIRE LIFE was a lie. And the Duma cult and Duma took advantage of his mental break. He was used his entire life and left holding the bag for everything.

And given what he'd just learned, I can't blame him for his knee jerk "you knew the entire time" when Rinea tried to calm him down. I absolutely dislike that he sacrificed her to Duma, but like. He sacrificed HIMSELF, too. He's as much a witch as she is in that last fight. Because he had nothing left in his eyes because of one very, very, very big lie told to him for years. Everything he'd been trained for was ruling. Transferring those skills isn't gonna happen. Especially in peace. Berkut had no other skills and he was lied to and he is roughly the same age as Alm. Fuck, even Alm says it isn't fair to Berkut.

Basically fuck Rudolph (and Mycen to a large degree too), no good intentions erase the trauma and lies told to both Alm and Berkut. Alm turning out okay was a goddamn miracle and I still maintain it's because much happened to him around his heritage's reveal that it couldn't sink in and destroy him immediately.

[naoreco]

redrew funny raid meme with berkut. Hi guys.

[pythons-bow]

Blacked out and made this 😭

Audio is from disventure camp by Odd Nation Cartoons

[katofvalentia]

Decided to redraw this Berkut ink piece I did back in 2019 cuz I still very much enjoy this lil douchebag :)

A more direct comparison is under the cut:

[jetglider]

rotating them like a ssbu trophies in my mind .my favorite freak and his silly cousin

[rexcaliburechoes]

i'm having so many feelings about alm + berkut // literally no one asked

i'm having to many feelings about alm and berkut. they are my sons, baby boy baby, sweet children of mine. i want to wrap them up in blankets and give them hot chocolate and a place to scream their troubles and be heard.

thoughts under the cut because this got long.

one of the things that stick out to me the most about alm is how responsibility is thrust upon the poor kid. he knows he's getting into a war, he knows what a war with rigel will bring. he knows how the people suffer, and how something must be done, and the only way to do that is by a war. in order for any change to happen, sometimes force is the only path. he needs to throw off the yoke of the old gods and let the people live by their own hands, he needs to stop the suffering, and if it is war that will do that, then so be it.

alm has responsibility thrust upon him, when all he's really stated before is how he wants to help the people, and that's practically it. he doesn't necessarily want to wage war. i've read a really good fic outlining to celica (through lukas) how, "if there were another peaceful solution, alm's sword would be first on the pile", and i genuinely think this is true. the boy has been only taught the practical skills (combat, strategy, weather and terrain, etc) and not the finer points of leading. he acknowledges how much he has to learn when he prepares to right back against rigel, sure, and he does learn to lead, but as the quote in hamilton goes, "dying is easy, young man, but leading is harder."

when clive comes to him and just makes him leader, he practically says "hey wait are you sure this is a good idea??" and even later, everyone assumes he's gonna be king at the end of the war

and it hurts, because if you think about it, he's never been taught how to handle the court, how to handle nobility, any of this high aristocracy bullshit. and celica's right. he has no idea how the hell any of this works. he says he's not a farmboy, but he is. he's a country bumpkin from the southern most tip of zofia, hailing from a truly backwater village.

and sure, he has celica to rely on, and clive to rely on, and mycen to rely on. he's forgiven celica already since their fight, and loves her. but she's right. and clive just thrust the title of "leader of the deliverance" and later "king of valentia" onto him. and mycen, mycen isn't truly his grandfather, and all the man does is chide alm for every single decision he makes since leaving the village.

and it's not fair!! it's wholly unfair and sad and painful to think of how alm must step up to the mantle that was pushed upon him. mycen was right. "once you march on Rigel, you place yourself in the hands of destiny. You won’t be able to stop the events that unfold. No one will wish you well. Many will even try to stop you; unexpected tragedy is sure to follow. That is the price of what you are about to undertake." and he's right, and alm said he was ready for it, but even so!!

"and what of my peace?!" he screams to the uncaring world. "what of my personhood?!"

and the world keeps turning on its axis, cold and unchanging as the rigel winter.

"this is not the time for mourning or self-pity, boy." the world tells him. "you cannot be a person, for you are the leader, and leaders must make sacrifices."

and this theme, this arc of alm's fits incredibly well with berkut's. it fits so well and i'm so incredibly sad.

because berkut... berkut was a gentle child. according to the valentia accordion, he was so timid that even riding a horse could make him cry. berkut, being the nephew to the emperor, being in line to the throne only because his father's brother is the emperor, who has no children... he has never was supposed to become emperor in the first place, either. his worldview is deeply shaped by rigel's culture, by how "a prince of rigel cannot possibly be weak". i've discussed this before, about how berkut is an unfortunate product of his upbringing.

but it hurts. it hurts how, no matter what he does, he can't ever be recognised for his accomplishments, that he fails so horribly to a farmboy- a zofian country bumpkin, a weak soldier compared to him- that the only person he has to look up to (much like alm, as mycen keeps ripping him apart, and clive only wants him to lead and also tells him off throughout the story, and celica, who's an entire ocean mass away) finds him a disgrace and leaves him out to dry, because he's simply not good enough, not even when he's been forced to walk this path.

"uncle!!" he screams to the retreating figure of the red-clad emperor. "please tell me i am good enough for you!! please tell me my own pain wasn't for nothing!"

and the silence is deafening, just like crackle of flames that drown out even the cries of the one thing he truly cared for most.

[candymoonstuff]

Look at my children

"Althea you didn't screenshot when you summoned them?"

Shush. Look at my children... aside from the literal gods and vessels (not possessed Robin tho is </3)

[feh-alt-battle]

Poll 69 - Berkut

Please do not criticize any art you may not like or compare one art to another in terms of quality, it's unkind and downplays the amount of work that the feh artists put into them. Please treat the feh artists how you would as any other artist - with kindness and with love.

Artists in order: Asatani Tomoyo, Asatani Tomoyo, Asatani Tomoyo

Notes: ha

[loveotomization]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Berkut/Rinea (Fire Emblem) Characters: Berkut (Fire Emblem), Rinea (Fire Emblem) Additional Tags: Fluff, Swordplay Summary:

Rinea shook her head. “While it’s true that I lack a taste for wonton bloodshed, protecting what is dear to me is a necessity that I cannot allow myself to shy away from any longer. Surely, you must also find that duty may differ at times from the palatable?” --- Rinea asks Berkut to teach her the sword.

----

My @nagamas gift for @birbsandkirbs ! Hope you enjoy!

[lilacskyly]

On the road but might as well introduce my other ocs :>

First of all: here's my oc Pulsé

(Still not drawn in my style cuz college and road stuff :,>)

Info about him under cut!

Pulsé is part of Serval's group. He's the oldest of the three members and has sworn to protect them.

After splitting up with them to find emblems, he goes to Brodia and finds Emblem Berkut. (I have a reason for picking Berkut over Alm for representation of Echoes, trust me :>)

Quickish info about Emblem Berkut: His main ability is like Emblem Byleths. It gives allies another turn while also adding the flame effect in a diamond shape around said ally. (If you know why it's flames, I'm so sorry I just had to). He's also known as the Emblem of Pride.

Going back to Pulsé, he acts very cold towards others he doesn't trust or doesn't know. He constantly has part of his dragon form showing to scare people off who could potentially cause harm. He's not quick to trust anyone and will actively assume the worst about people.

Pulsé is the last member of Serval's group to join forces with Divine Dragon Veyle.

Next member of Serval's group will be introduced next :]

[gamercalli]

It’s going mentally insane over Berkut Fire Emblem hours he’s got everything:

Lovely Wife

Evil Shadow Good Light Self

Agony

Baller Voice Acting

He’s just. Such a good character. He’s not my favorite bc his Good Light Self (Conrad) is my favorite but he’s close since they’re so character foils

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

Not enough people talk about how a major point in Echoes/FE2 is that love is both powerful and destructive.

Duma is compelling because everything that he became he became because he loved his people so, so much that he wanted what he thought was best for them--just like Mila.

But of course the rough and tumble "might makes right" guy fell first. War brings out the worst in people. So he would consistently see the worst of the people he loved.

And it ultimately destroyed him--just like it destroyed Berkut, and like how Celica's love of Mila destroyed her for a bit.

.

[flightless-birb]

Marianne's backstory

[milky-rot]

In a silver garden with you

[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.