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hulloitsdani · 4 months ago

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*slowly rises from my coffin*

So Alfonse and Kiran right?

I was talking about this game the other day to the poor yet willing ears of friends (a very common occurrence bless them) and I finally managed to articulate what I found compelling about their dynamic. And I want to share these ideas with you all, because if I don’t I will explode. You understand.

As a refresher to previous ramblings about this game, Fire Emblem Heroes’ consistent theme across its characters seems to be loneliness. Everyone is haunted by what a lack or loss of companionship threatens to do them. On top of this, based on the characterization we receive from side materials and the tiny glimpses we get in-game, I believe Kiran has the capacity to be the core of a lot of these themes. An isekai protagonist suffering from being isekaied would be a gold mine for this idea. I deeply enjoy further extrapolating their character and giving my pitch for what this goofy tactician could be like if they were allowed to be an actual character outside of a self insert.

With all that in mind— oh no Alfonse and Kiran’s loneliness latch onto each other like glue.

Alfonse’s loneliness is a culmination of how he was raised, but funnily enough, it’s not immediately clear that this is the case. It’s both a little baffling and borderline amusing to see how much the abandonment of Zacharias affected him in book 1. It reads as a bit romantically coded for a reason. Not hard to assume that Alfonse took it so hard because of some unresolved pinning. Which I’m not going to even remotely deny isn’t the case, but it is intriguingly not the full answer.

In book 3 we meet Alfonse and Sharena’s parents and come to the understanding that oh! Oh no! Their childhood was not good! Having two stable parents did not alleviate them from the themes of loneliness. Their childhood was a very isolating experience and smothered by the extreme expectations that defined that household. An idea which is only reinforced by book 4, where as child, Sharena was lonely enough to want to leave reality entirely and escape to the realm of dreams. And depending on your read of it, she did. Needless to say that these two grew up lonely with a capital L. This means that Zacharias was potentially one of their first and only friends. Period. That recontextualizes how hurt they were when one day he just vanished for no attainable reason. As one of their only sources of connection, that would be traumatizing.

Now Alfonse in particular is someone who, once he is attached, cares so so deeply and is completely ride or die. It’s as if all the love that had nowhere to go for years finally comes out all at once. And, surprisingly, he knows that. He knows because he tries really hard NOT to be. Being that emotionally driven and vulnerable is something he is expected to grow out of if he wants to succeed as a ruler. So he tries to temper it with extreme practicality. Big emphasis on tries. After the loss of Zacharias, he logics out that if he can’t stop these strong feelings for those he cares for and ending up profoundly hurt at the inevitable loss, then he’s going to remove the problem from board. Entirely. No more bonds of friendship. Shoo. Go away. The isolation from before was better than this. He could control that, at least.

Enter Kiran, who sees that and says, “aight bet.”

Despite Alfonse’s best efforts, they end up hitting it off and becoming friends. Just instantly click. Two halves of the same braincell. Commander Anna was initially worried about how standoffish they were, but her worries were clearly misplaced. Now she is left trying to figure out what the hell her tactician and right hand man are even talking about as she struggles to pinpoint when exactly she lost control of this meeting. And this becomes a delightfully common occurrence. Alfonse has fully failed his attempts to keep them at arms length and Kiran has succeeded in kicking his walls down. They are now both deeply attached.

But this means Alfonse has a new problem. He’s gotta navigate two conflicting and volatile emotions— feeling increasingly awful for incidentally forcing Kiran into their given circumstances but DESPERATELY wanting them to stay. And I could theoretically come up with a more eloquent way of putting this, but I described the situation to my friends as having the same energy of the “hey can I try rizzing you up?” bit. But instead it’s “hey can I convince you stay in Askr as the Order’s tactician?”

“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE—”

I find that this wonderfully communicates how much he genuinely really likes them. It’s honestly very sweet and very clearly mutual.

This then brings me to the fan favorite voice line, in which Alfonse says, “Promise that you’ll never leave us… without warning me first.” The line delivery emphasizes the duality of the previously stated feelings he’s working from. Alfonse wants to be clingy so so bad, but he respects Kiran’s autonomy and is willing to cast his fears to the side for their well being. Just… warn him, please? If that’s going to be the case? (Which he’s desperately hoping it isn’t.)

There is a deep irony to this situation. He’s not too aware of it yet, but lucky for him, Kiran isn’t going anywhere! But unfortunately that isn’t as great as it sounds.

See, Kiran’s loneliness is a different demon. As briefly touched on before, Kiran is facing the natural mental and emotional consequences of being isekaied to a new alien world. Their life just got entirely reset and that’s not the purely fun escapism that you desperately want it to be for them. It turns out culture shock has some serious hands! Hell, it’s almost funny. There’s this twinge of dread whenever they mention the world they left behind. They’re from our modern day, sure, but… maybe it was bad for them? It’s odd to wish for a tragic backstory on a character, but it would mean coming to Askr was better for them. That no one would miss them and they don’t have anyone to miss.

But that is not the case.

Kiran had family. Kiran had a life. Kiran had goals and dreams they wanted to accomplish that are truly no longer possible. They cannot go home and they’ve been dropped into an active war zone. And the only way to survive is to partake.

That’s all pretty bad, right? Absolutely awful? But… somehow it hasn’t been. Sort of. Not fully. Of course some of it is, however, our other protagonists put massive effort to ensure that Kiran is as happy and comfortable as they can possibly manage. And then some! Commander Anna, even upon realizing that this supposed savior was just a scared civilian with no combat experience, gave them shelter, food, and a job. Instantly. Without question. She didn’t even know them! That’s not something they take for granted. Hell, if they think too hard about it, they might start crying. Because that’s genuinely so fucking nice! She took what should have been the worst day of their life and turned it into the start of something new.

And that’s just Anna. All of them did this! Even Alfonse, who despite his clear issues, made an active effort to ensure they were alright. It was not as almost aggressively friendly as Sharena or as surprisingly giving as Anna. No, it was a bit more subtle. He would observe, inadvertently find them struggling with something, and then offer his services. Even if it was for something Kiran might not have been bold enough to ask about. Because Kiran is not going to pull Anna away from her work to help them find a modern map in a library. That feels rude! Or at least intrusive! Instead they’re going to struggle in the corner until they figure out how Askr dates things. Or not apparently, because Alfonse spends a lot of time in the library and has noticed their visible distress. He comes in for the rescue and fails to suppress a smile at Kiran’s dumb “aw my hero!” pun.

You can begin to see why Kiran called bullshit on Alfonse’s no friends deal.

All of this has had a funny little consequence on our silly little summoner. Kiran deeply mourns the loss of their home. They might not show it, but they do. However, thanks to the massive support of their friends, they start making a life for themself here. A new home, with some of the nicest people they’ve ever met, in the most beautiful place they’ve ever been, and in a way that means the world to them.

A home that they are going to defend fiercely, because they know damn well that they don’t have it in them to start from scratch again.

No one embodies this desire more for them than Prince Alfonse. He becomes the emotional center of it. A home in Askr doesn’t exist without him in their life. So no, Kiran is not leaving. Kiran is dying in Askr— dying for HIM more often than not. When we look upon the breidablik Líf carries, we stare in quiet horrified knowing. Alfonse did not active the blood rite. It was not his blood spilled on the altar. It was not his heart beating until no one was left. It was theirs. They couldn’t do it again. Kiran took the only out. And when Líf stares at the summoner with mourning and vitriol, we know why.

Clearly, the way their loneliness comes together can and has been played for emotionally devastating consequences. This intimate relationship is born from this deeply personal and less than perfect part of themselves. Yet, somehow, we get to see the version of this relationship that prevails against all odds. Where they inspire each other to be better and lessen the burden of the loneliness that threatens to undo them. And damnit that gets me.

TLDR; they should explore each other’s bodies sometime and be locked in the world’s slowest slow burn. Thank you and good night!

#Guys I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna remember to tag this properly first try.#kiralfonse #Boom. I deserve a reward for that.#I consistently forget about the kiralfonse tag. It’s kinda hilarious. Nothing like hitting post and then IMMEDIATELY opening edit again.#I don’t use a lot of the time so it slips my mind #Anyway yeah I like these two a lot. My precious sillies.#feh #fire emblem heroes #fire emblem #FEH Ted Talk #feh kiran #kiran #feh summoner #fe kiran #fe summoner #feh alfonse #fe alfonse #alfonse

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