#fe echoes notes

[windywhispers]

not to go back again into echoes, but since I was doing some scriptwriting practice using the Berkut and Rinea scene in Rigel Castle, it was interesting to pick up on the tone of voice that Rinea uses when she confesses to never wanting to be empress and just wanting to remain by Berkut’s side.

Rinea, who is rather passive as a character in all other scenes, shows determination when she makes the confession, unmoved by anything else that may cross their way, and that is shown by lines such as “ I don’t care if you’re the emperor or a swineherd so long as we...”

It just makes me think that like, if for once Berkut listened to Rinea instead of assuming, she would have played just as strong of a role that Celica did. But that’s just me daydreaming still on the “Rinea deserved better writing” train and fiddling once again about “the meaning of dancers in FE”.

[windywhispers]

look i know how super cliche for a story to include the whole "all hope is gone and we're stuck but the protagonist says I'M NEVER GIVING UP" and all that jazz, but this whole scene where celica says that there's no way to stop duma, only for her sacrifice her soul, and alm rejecting that idea is just such a good addition to the whole ongoing theme of remaining static vs pressing forward in growth. i know i talked about it more in regards to how arrogance and humility will play into whether or not you are able to grow, but i think it's also just good because from a general sense, you're putting humans in a position to make a place for themselves -- to allow growth to come to their lands by their own hands and no longer by the hands of god/fate, and i think that even if this is cliche, it makes the scene and even the plot all the more powerful :')

[windywhispers]

thinking about lighting in echoes and specifically about Berkut because he’s unfortunately today’s muse

But I just can’t help but think about when we were first introduced to Berkut it was beneath golden lights of a ballroom, shining at his very best, but with each following pre rendered cutscenes, the lighting dims/is completely gray, and while it is just to help the more serious scenery, I think it’s also just good to depict his loss of self, too. And we get to that final scene where he sacrifices Rinea — overcome with a distorted kind of light.

Idk if this is also applicable to the CG images we’re shown but I do feel like the light that comes w Rinea and Berkut being reunited is kind of nice in a “you had it ALL berkut and u THREW IT AWAY” kinda way but hey whatever lol

[windywhispers]

It’s another time where I just reaaaally appreciate that I’m playing the game myself because I was watching the memory prism between Zeke and Tatiana and with Tatiana being a cleric for Rigel, her general demeanor was rather shocking from other Rigelians we have met, with her being very caring towards Zeke, though this can be due to working in the church (also if anyone knows the answer to this pls lemme know but is the church she works for assumingly church of Mila? Because otherwise she’d a Duma Faithful wouldn’t she? idk).

And Tatiana told Zeke something that caught my attention about like both mindsets between Mila vs Duma.

You can stay here as long as you like, even after you get better. Of course, once you’re on your feet, there’s cleaning to do, wood to chop... But your only job right now is to heal.

I think I was under the impression that in Rigel, it’s always “work and grind” and “everyone for themself” kinds of mindsets, but listening to what Tatiana says, I think it highlights something special about the way that Duma ruled over his land. Without the powers of gods to rely on, humanity has to fend for themself and while most people in Rigel seem to grow selfish under this environment, Tatiana serves as an exception and even a possibility that with the right attitude, such an environment could be used for better. Rather than trying to be selfish in fending and surviving, Tatiana and assumingly the rest of the church and some small portion of Rigelians choose to tend and rely on each other in the face of the rigid environment.

[windywhispers]

"With no core belief to steel your spine, you turn tail at every shadow. Men broken by life’s unfairness who cast all principle aside will never triumph."

bro why are the lines in this game so good i'm so shook

OKAY I'm actually really glad they added something like this into Echoes, and it means a lot when it comes to Clive because as with my long rambles over Clive, this is such a perfect show that he's finally landed himself a principle that he'll follow through. He has a core belief that he tries to stick by but up to this point, he's been struggling hard to follow through it because of the rumors about Alm not being Mycen's grandson as well as Alm doing something as reckless as saving some commongirl Delthea.

But I like to think that the second sentence especially could have referred to a route in which Clive was in fact broken down by the loss of Mathilda and maybe even Clair if that was an option in the game. After all, his endcard after Mathilda's death is more of depressing than it is triumphant.

[windywhispers]

A minor detail but I LOVE the difference in structures in the houses for Echoes. When you go to the Rigelian village, Alm makes a comment that the village homes are made of brick compared to Zofian village homes being made of wood, which is a nice alluding to Rigel needing stronger homes to peotect themselves compared to Zofia taking it really easy, as one of the villagers had mentioned

[windywhispers]

several things:

I kinda forgot how distant Berkut and Rudolph were, considering Berkut, even though he calls him uncle, also refers to him as Sire. I mean I don’t think Rudolph really said he’d give his inheritance to Berkut but yknow... gotta suck up to him and prove himself if Berkut wants to be emperor ig

I think this is more from my own thoughts re: “Rinea the dancer who could’ve turned the tides if Berkut wasn’t so full of himself and listened”, but

1) the fact that Rinea mildly complains that they had just arrived back at the Rigelian capital after the defeat against Alm? It highlights how impulsive Berkut is that it leads him to think irrationally (it’s also super funny with the parallels because Alm is also pretty impulsive but he at least does it for others while Berkut does it for himself). I think if he listened to Rinea and like.. rested himself and waited for another battle to prove himself instead of rushing so soon, maybe they might have had a chance but HEY that’s just me trying to make more meaning to Rinea’s character ahaha

2) the encounter between Nuibaba and Berkut. It’s clear Berkut’s pretty against Nuibaba and all the duma faithful as a whole, but he still contemplates on whether or not to ask for Nuibaba’s aid by taking the mirror she lends him even despite her mentioning the horrors that is Jedah sacrificing his own daughters to Duma for more power. It was just strange to me that Rinea said anything because she just seems like such a passive character, you’d think they’d just forget her character in the scene (I mean they probably did considering she is... constantly overshadowed). So I just thought about like.. even if it is just one line, her commenting about how horrible Jedah’s acts were, if Berkut had listened... well, you know.

Anyways that concludes the whole “Rinea deserves better and I’m going to keep thinking about her purpose in the whole story”

[windywhispers]

I think the whole “things are gonna be the same even when i’m gone” (Grieth) and “you can’t change fate” (Mikhail) is something I’ve noticed only ever on Celica’s side, and it just dawned on me that that particular theme is important on Celica’s side because of that dream she had at the start of act 2. 

I almost forgot about the dream since the biggest worry was looking for Mila since Zofia is suffering a famine and all but I think remembering it made me better understand more about Celica’s drive and why she went so far as to “trusting” Jedah later in the story. Like I know most people kinda crap on Celica for being dumb and going along with Jedah, but I feel like she knew and she was really careful about how she approached Jedah. However, with all the talk from the mini bosses about “can’t change fate”, I feel like I understand more why Celica would go so far as to working with an enemy to try and fix things...but I feel like I’d have to wait and see Jedah and Celica’s interactions first before I form a proper opinion haha