#and ludger gets even more annoyed about it all

[kresnikcest]

lrb best worst ot3. they are all simultaneously the chaotic disaster person but also simultaneously the only sane one

[otakuworks]

Hello! Could I request a gn!reader x ludger one shot from the academy's undercover professor where ludger overexerts himself and ends up passing out with gn!reader having to take care of him?

Tysm! 

(ps i saw the other one shot you did about ludger overexerting himself and loved it!!!! fantastic job!!!)

❛ 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃. fluffy oneshot

feat. Ludger x GN!Reader | wc. 0.9K

sum. you might as well be a damn doctor with how often you take care of the constant-exhausted professor.

note. I'm glad you liked it 💜💙 I also have no idea what to name this fic so I just improvised the previous title, don't question it lmao.

If anyone asks what do you do for a living, you'd be torn to answer between professor or nurse. The newest professor seems to have a habit of disappearing into thin air only for you to find him unable to hold his weight.

"Your ass seems to like the ground very much." You sassed, unimpressed eyes scanning his crouched figure under a tree.

"It's the ground who likes my ass very much." He riposted, his raspy voice was the first indication of exhaustion, but with how he sassed you back you doubt he's anything but exhausted.

"If you can retort, you can probably walk. Get up before anyone come looking for me." You urged him and try to lift his weight.

"How is that my fault? You're the one who followed me." He shot you a baffled look.

"And you're the one who kept disappearing. I don't care what shenanigans you're into but please, for the love of God, be more discreet about it. I love walking alone in night but now I can't do that because of your shady business."

"Then walk somewhere I'm nowhere near." He scoffed.

"How about you do your shady business elsewhere?"

"You talk like you own every property here."

You poked his sides, hard. Enough for him to hunch over in pain and to grab the tree for support. "Y-You're an evil person." He created out, glaring at you.

"Wow, I thought you're smart and yet you only figure that out just now?" Your sarcasm couldn't been more obvious.

Despite your actions, you move to sling his arm over your shoulder and try to lift him up. Keyword: try 'cuz good Lord, he must be an elephant.

"What do you e-eat for lunch that m-made you so o-overweight?" You croaked out, adjusting his limp arm over your nape and practically doing all the hard work to keep you two moving.

"You're into fat-shaming?" He glared at you through his hunched figure, "And I'm not overweight nor does it have to do with my diet, you simply don't have muscle mass."

"Now you're skinny-shaming me?"

"Stating facts doesn't mean I'm insulting you." His voice gradually faded out.

Then, he's out of light. Your eye visibly twitched.

"I'll drop you if you don't wake up." No response.

"Oh, look. The principal's here." Again, no response.

It wasn't your first time randomly aiding his ass to a safer place, however most of those times were done with his conscious while throwing remarks here and there. With an exasperated sigh, you doubled your effort limping to the Academy.

For once, the journey was quiet. You don't know if you want to celebrate or to scratch your neck, while his annoying mouth is absent you dread over the fact you have to take care of his unconscious form.

You finally reached his room, kicking the door open before haphazardly throwing him over his bed — the result has his elbows bent uncomfortably, feet hanging out and his face smushed on the mattress.

You leaned against the door, eyes succinctly observing his destitute posture under the poor fulguration. There are no visible wounds and other concerning physical problems, therefore you have no other business of him other than leaving him be.

A blazing headache forced Ludger to pry his eyes open, the uncomfortable throb in his temples has him groaning in discomfort. The room is dimly lit, indicating the morning is yet to come. He vaguely remembers passing out after subduing criminals, but his head is in such disarray to even remember the whole picture.

Despite the aches, he forced himself to sit up and assess the situation. Though it didn't take him too long when he sees you hunched over by the chair across him, dozing off between reality and dreamworld.

Did you bring him here? If so, then why can't he remember?

"Oh, great. The menace has awoken." Your gruff voice pierced through the silent night, stretching your limbs before inching closer to his disoriented form. "You passed out on me and I took the liberty to be a good Samaritan and brought you here myself." Your words lack the usual bite, probably because of the drowsiness.

"Is that so?" His hushed response earned him a raised eyebrow.

"Why do you sound like that? You don't have a fever, do you?" Without question, you placed the back of your hand on his forehead and felt his temperature in normal status. Completely unaware how he froze and glanced at you.

"Must be from the overextend of Mana usage. For a seasoned mage, you sure find yourself often in these rookie situations."

"If you're not gonna help, you're welcome to leave." You rolled your eyes, finding his defensive remark tad bit boring to listen.

"I never said that." With your hand still on his forehead, you infused your mana to generate a magic circle.

Ludger felt the pleasant effect of his headache subsiding, replaced by an odd comforting warmth. He'd usually depend on his pills, but magic is proven useful it seems, he might depend on you occasionally. Although he already has, multiple times now.

He almost slumped right back if not for your presence, gotta remain professional and not ruin his reputation.

You quickly assess his status before humming in satisfactory and wordlessly left his room. It took seconds before he scoffed indignant, perhaps there was no point in preserving his reputation around you anymore.

He still has some thanking to do tomorrow.

@otakuworks _ 2024

[aroacettorney]

for a character with a reputation of being extremely rational and logical, many of ludger's actions are actually quite emotionally motivated. even when he stays oblivious to his true emotions, there are still many instances where we can see how they unknowingly manifest in his actions and subtly influence his biases. i think ludger's second most toxic trait is that he tends to subconsciously cook up a seemly logical reason to spontaneously cover up his emotional ass because he cannot admit to himself that he feels emotions intensely.

exhibit A: his vengeance for arte's death required him to admit that he had a strong attachment to the kid, so he stated that eliminating the evil and offering solace to the victims were the actual reasons. counter: there were many better ways to deal with delica's incidents if his goal was simply enacting justice. even hans realised that this was a weak excuse to conceal his regrets.

exhibit B: his mercy towards aiden required him to admit his unwillingness to eliminate him, so he covered it up by reasoning that it would be too risky to take a student's life. counter: we know very well that he's fully capable of eliminating someone without leaving a trace if he puts his mind to the task.

exhibit C: his sparing casey's life twice required him to admit his disinclination to kill her, so instead, he reasoned that she was more useful alive and that her excessive pride wouldn't let her easily expose him to the public anyway. counter: strategically speaking, turning her against blackdawn was an obvious blunder. he didn't even need her to deal with them. plus, somehow he conveniently forgot at the moment that casey could still have told her best friend, terinna, about his identity regardless of the matter of pride and subjected him to even worse danger.

exhibit D: his taking owens under his wings and founding u.n. owen required him to admit his emotional bonds to them, so he claimed that he needed a strong fortress for his goals and his own protection, especially against the bretus. counter: considering his op-ness, he had never really needed protection. he also mainly tasked owens with leg work while dealing with most of the dangers by himself. he even ended up disbanding them to confront bretus on his own and telling them to prioritize their lives over his goals.

at first glance, his reasoning might seem sound and logical, but if we look at them for more than ten seconds, they are actually quite flimsy and contradictory. this is not to say he's inherently an idiot or a terrible liar. ludger's capability of reasoning is proven comparable to that of casey. he is also an excellent liar when it comes to deliberately lying to someone. but how does one reason or lie about feelings that they themselves are not even aware of?

my hypothesis:

when his suppressed emotions subconsciously influence his biases and/or manifest into his actions, ludger needs to convince himself that he is still being logical, and thus, without even realising it, he tries to rationalize them and grab onto whatever reason that momentarily sounds in his mind: why was he so dedicated to teaching his students? he couldn't get caught half-assing his job, and he wanted to earn the trust of the president. why did he save esmeralda? quasimodo annoyed him, so he had to step in. why did he delay the first princess' orders and prioritize the students' safety during the attacks on the capital? it was the princess' trusted blade himself who suggested saving the students, and not him. why did he accept casey's companionship during his moriarty's era? it was an act, and he was simply getting into his character.

whether ludger wants to admit it or not, he has always been a person moving according to his emotions. and the actual reason why we see so many inconsistencies and hypocrisies in his actions when aligning all of them together with his own logic is that his reasonings are only flimsy excuses that his subconsciousness makes up on the fly to rationalize away his repressed emotions, i.e. his strong attachments to this world.

[milfhandholder]

Random Grell thingz I've accumulated in my head bcs I'm delusional but without context bcs I am going to write a legit novel abt this woman one day

Idc what anyone says, I am an avid believer of the fact that Grell has always been considered beautiful by her peers even in her human life

LIKE SHE'S THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER SUITOR OF HER SEASON, SHE WAS AN IT GIRL BEFORE THEY KNEW WHAT AN IT GIRL IS

She's so beautiful that the Victorians could've started kpop PC first bcs of her and trade them like actual kpoppers

Grell always knew about her being queer (minus actual label bcs Victorian era duh) but not about her gender

"Wait so you people don't fantasize about having boobs? Not at all? No?"

It was maybe 6 years into her reaper life when she finally got the memo that "hey girlie, you're actually a girl"

Her crisis went a bit like this: straight man -> gay man?? -> 'oh no I like girls too' bi man -> died LMAO -> 'I hate everyone and I hate my gender' questioning -> 'maybe I have no gender at all. I like girls though' (she was exclusive to girls only so I guess??lesbian?? Who cheered) -> transwoman questioning -> !! transwoman bi !!

Was in a 'lavender marriage' with a closeted lesbian for maybe 2 - 3 years before her suicide. Grell sort of fell in love with her but understandably never confessed. Fast forward to present time AND GRELL IS HITTING THE FLOOR, SCREAMING, CRYING

She had a lot of rage as a young reaper because she never really got over 'my parents suck' mindset that stood by her as she died

HATED WILLIAM. As much as I love the OVA, I will stand by my words that it would’ve been so much more interesting if Grell buried / was embarassed about her crush and acted like a dick towards him BECAUSE WHY, OF ALL THE MEN IN DISPATCH, DID IT HAVE TO BE WILLIAM T SPEARS

Mellowed out eventually and cool character development happened

Has more experience with and confidence in dating girls, she's very anxious (and perhaps frightful) about men reciprocating her advances

Being made "an experience" does that to you

Fun fact: she's the first and only woman William ever had a crush on. Good taste dude

She was projecting her ex wife A LOT onto Madam but it's ok bcs it was vice versa you see, Madam projected too BUT THEN THESE BITCHES TALKED IT OUT and everything is all ok and cool and OH GOD GRELL NOOOOOOOOO 😭😭😭😭

Speaks German and French, is the go to translator for German Dispatch businesses until Ludger (and eventually Sascha joined in as a bonus and a translator) was forced to sharpen his English

Now for the E discourse.... someone made a typo one day and she went with it

Grell: You see, when you go to France, they make you get a name in French. That's why I can go by Grell Sutcliff or Grelle Sutcliffe

Ron, an idiot who has never been anywhere except his hometown: oh shit fr??

Eric's her first ACTUAL reaper friend which is sad ngl LMAOOO

Firm believer that the reapers have mentorships for gifted students that started in Ron's year and that Grell was her mentor READ MY RON FIC, IM OBSESSED WITH THEM

Mentoring Ron (aka a few years before Jack the Ripper) was the moment where she was the healthiest, mentally

Then she divorced Madam, had a falling out with William and oops she regressed el em ao. Don't tell any of her friends though, they'd start annoying her to get better

People older and the same age as her are wildly terrified of her. This is in contrast to (most) juniors who are so in love with the idea of her

Harbors a lot of guilt, grief, rage, anger, jealousy, insecurity, narcissism, etc. She's just a good actress

Her butler persona was her mocking three people at once: her father's (brunette) appearance, her mother's wish for Grell to be more obedient, and Grell's old self that let people walk all over her for the sake of maintaining her family name

Her family is rich rich though she can't remember for what. She doesn't really care eitherway so

Can be very insensitive!! It doesn't help that she's friends with people who'd give the same energy back (Eric and Othello) or people who just don't care enough (William)

She learned how to hold her tongue when she realized Ron was genuinely upset with her rude comments. Ironically, Ron learned how to have thicker skin because of said comments

Likes dogs, sorry Sebastian

Good at fencing! Not much else in other sports!!

She hates sports sm, they make her sweat and they are tedious and they're exhausting and THEY'RE BORING

The only ranged weapon she'd try out is a gun.

She's no wuss

Yeah that's all that I can think of lmao

[talesofourworlds]

POSITIVES & NEGATIVES.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OCs still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

MUSE.

MY MUSE IS: canon / oc / au / slightly canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated. (headcanon heavy)

IS YOUR CHARACTER POPULAR IN THE FANDOM? YES / NO / IDK  / KINDA.

IS YOUR CHARACTER CONSIDERED HOT™ IN THE FANDOM? YES / NO / IDK / KINDA.

IS YOUR CHARACTER CONSIDERED STRONG IN THE FANDOM? YES / NO / IDK / KINDA.

ARE THEY UNDERRATED? YES / NO / IDK / KINDA.

WERE THEY RELEVANT FOR THE MAIN STORY? YES  / NO. 

WERE THEY RELEVANT FOR THE MAIN CHARACTER? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

ARE THEY WIDELY KNOWN IN THEIR WORLD? YES / NO.

HOW’S THEIR REPUTATION? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL (kinda?? people think he's annoying)

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON? 

I try to stick to canon as much as I can, but my Ivar is also pretty headcanon driven at times because canon doesn't give us a ton to work with. He's just such an interesting character to me. Just as interesting as Jude, but even more so since they're like two sides of the same coin. I try to take his views on Jude into account but also try to focus on a bit more than that. Like... boy has a one track mind, but there's more to him than just being hyper focused on Milla or Jude. You know?

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.

My lovely mutuals, I present to you one good boy chosen to be the handmaid of Milla Maxwell!

He's devoted, he's loyal, and he's willing to drop everything in the name of doing his duties. He is a beastcrafter, meaning he can communicate with animals! He dual wields daggers! He's funny!

He's also good with kids and animals. Could be a good babysitter (maybe). Also, he has cool sunglasses! What's not to like?

Also he's (maybe??) near unkillable to some degree? Boy lodged a piece of his own dagger into his head and survived.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).

Okay so let's get this out of the way. Ivar is a dingus supreme. That willingness to drop everything to fulfill his duties? The downside to that is that if he thinks his duty to protect Milla is more important than say, protecting Nia Khera, he will drop the latter in favor of the former. Much to the annoyance of anyone involved.

Ivar can be pretty intense when it comes to how he decides who he doesn't like. Sorry, Jude, but you're the best example here. Boyo was going to try and kill Jude because how dare Milla have someone else that she puts a lot of trust in instead of him. Boyo got so focused on fighting Jude that he allowed Milla to start crawling away to get to her destination on her own.

So, yeah, he's got a short temper. That can lead to him doing dumb things, especially if he thinks it will lead to him one upping someone he doesn't like.

Also, don't let him anywhere near guns. The fact he accidentally fired one while trying to teach Ludger how to use one should be all you need to know.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?

I've always really liked Ivar as a character. As stated above, I love the fact that he and Jude basically are two sides of the same coin. The fandom thinks he's annoying and while I can at least see where they're coming from, I think there's a lot more to him than what the fandom sees. He's fascinating to me. I feel like he could have made an interesting addition to the party.

Mostly, though? I just wanted to give him some love. So I grabbed him as one of my many muses. Because he's my silly little guy.

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING?

Just thinking about this dingus is enough sometimes. But also like?? Plotting and chatting with my friends is also a big help. Just having other Tales writers to bounce off of, especially other Xillia muse enjoyers, is just the ticket.

MUN.

DO YOU THINK YOU GIVE YOUR CHARACTER JUSTICE? YES / NO / KINDA.

DO YOU FREQUENTLY WRITE HEADCANONS? YES / NO / KINDA. (I really should write more headcanons!)

DO YOU SOMETIMES WRITE DRABBLES? YES / NO. (not for Ivar specifically, but that might change!)

DO YOU THINK A LOT ABOUT YOUR MUSE DURING THE DAY? YES / NO / KINDA.

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN YOUR PORTRAYAL? YES / NO / KINDA.

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN YOUR WRITING? YES / NO / KINDA.

ARE YOU A SENSITIVE PERSON? YES / NO / KINDA.

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL? 

YES ABSOLUTELY. As long as it's not just 'Lol, your Ivar sucks' and doing nothing to elaborate on how I could improve, then by all means throw your critique at me!

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU TO EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER? 

YES, YES, YES!!

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY? 

I mean, it depends on the headcanon. Like I headcanon Ivar is very distantly related to the Kresnik Clan based on tiny things I picked up on in my most recent playthrough of Xillia 2. Mostly just in relation to the Maxwell stuff. But I could see people seeing that headcanon and going 'Um?? No, that's dumb' and I would be fine with that. Different interpretations, it's all good.

Now if it was my headcanon that Ivar's got a forehead scar from the aforementioned dagger piece getting lodged in his head that people disagreed with, that would be something I'd like to hear about.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT? 

I mean, honestly? There's always going to be people that don't like how people write canon characters. If someone disagrees with how I write Ivar? That's all good. So I wouldn't be too bothered.

It only would become an issue if someone disagreed with my portrayal and then like... proceeded to be nasty about it. You know?

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?

So far I've not come across anyone who actively hates Ivar, which is good. But I know the fandom is pretty quick to call him annoying which, honestly, I could see as people just jumping to hating him because of how he's presented. Especially in Xillia 1. So if you hate Ivar? That's cool, man. Just let me enjoy my funny little dingus.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS? 

YES. YES, PLEASE. That and spelling errors. I like to think I'm pretty thorough with checking my replies, but sometimes I'm not. Please feel free to point out errors. I'm not perfect.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?

I think so? For all I know, though, I could be wrong.

tagged by: Stolen from @mathcs tagging: Whoever wants to!

[dany36]

actually i need to talk some more about the ch 11 ending and human milla/milla maxwell because this game just stabbed me in the heart over 36 times and i still have 5 chapters to go so i won't be able to hold on until i do my usual junk thoughts post at the end.

GOD. WHAT AN AMAZING CUTSCENE. Dare I say the best cutscene in the history of tales games?? I just...can't deal with all of the emotions it handed to me at once. from Elle being such a fucking sweetheart trying to protect Milla by hitting rideaux with her sword, to Milla's heart-wrenching scream of "Please! Look after Elle!" before she sacrifices herself, to everyone's lovable badass Lord of Spirits Milla Maxwell's incredible return to the action...like...WHAT THE FUCK!!!! AAAAAA now THIS is how you write a damn cutscene!!!

FIRST OF ALL, when the game introduced fractured milla, of course i was happy to see A Milla in the game!!! Milla has become one of my all-time favorite video game characters so the fact that we got to see her again was fucking wonderful!! obviously I quickly realized how different this Milla was from Milla Maxwell, but I honestly liked her?? i'm glad we saved her from the fractured dimension she was in because holy shit she just looked so vulnerable in front of fractured muzet!! once she joins your party you realize she is much more charimastic in her own way, her voice conveyed much more warmth than Prime Milla, and of COURSE her relationship with Elle was so cute and sweet!!! Prime Milla's friendship with Elize and Leiah won me over in Xillia 1 but Elle's attachment to Human Milla was so fucking well-done that I just lack the words to express how fucking devastating the follow-up to Milla's sacrifice has been to watch, and to see Elle get so angry with Prime Milla for not being HER Milla is like....AAHHHH THIS IS TOO DAMN GOOD!!!! I HATE IT BUT I LOVE IT BUT I HATE IT!!!

SECOND OF ALL, i was such a naive fool when I got excited to see the title card for chapter 11 and saw that it said "Milla Maxwell" because oh shit!!! The Milla we all know and love from Xillia 1 is FUCKING BACK, BABY!! But NOOOO, of COURSE there can't be two Millas in the prime dimension, I had no fucking idea her "dying" was gonna be so fucking heart-breaking to watch!!! I couldn't even be as happy as I thought I was gonna be upon Prime Milla's return because of what I had just witnessed, but...that's what makes this so damn good, isn't it??? 😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔 human Milla was just so relatable and the game did such an INCREDIBLE job of having her grow on you as her own character!! she isn't the Lord of Spirits but who the fuck cares?? this Milla was amazing in her own way!! 😭

And can I just say that Milla's voice actress has done a fucking excellent job in this game?? I noticed the difference in her voice between Human Milla vs Prime Milla right away, it's insane!! like, as soon as Prime Milla spoke, I got...a bit sad because that warmth and charisma from Human Milla was gone, but then I was like...yep...that's Milla Maxwell alright... 🥺😭

it's a bit weird to see that your affinity level of Human Milla carries over to Milla Maxwell, especially 'cus I just did Milla's ch 3 story and it really does feel like you're starting over in terms of getting her trust. even though she DOES say that when she was in the dimensional abyss she dreamt of the Human Milla and Ludger and the rest, but....idk idk human Milla you will never be forgotten!!! ;_;

ALSO THANK YOU NAMCO for including a small skit of Elize being happy to see Prime Milla again and Milla saying that she looks as good as ever. LIKE YES ELIZE AND MILLA BESTIES FOREVER 😭

and lastly...Elle. Elle you beautiful adorable little girl you must be protected at all costs. i must admit i didn't care much for her at the beginning of the game and found her...kind of...annoying lol. but wow once again good job namco for her character development because if ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ELLE I WILL GO ON A KILLING SPREE!! she's suffered enough!!! FIRST with her dad being missing and now Human Milla!!! AUUGHHHHADLJFALDKJFL

well, enough xillia 2 for today. i need some time to recover from this heartbreak. ;(

[hungrydolphin91]

A continuation of Xillia 2 with me and my anonymous adult sister!

We started off a session by accidentally buying 15 Iron Bracers for Jude. The mental image of Ludger, who owes 20 million in debt and is pinching every penny he can, buying 15 sets of bracers for a guy he just met yesterday who definitely only has 2 arms had me absolutely cackling.

Ivar's return had my sister on edge at first but he's funnier in this game, more comic relief and less of a nuisance. My sister noted that he's still a sycophant though, just for a different boss.

She loves the new wanted posters, especially the fact that they hung them in his own apartment where no one else is going to see them. Also laughed at the skit suggesting Ludger just give a photo of himself to the police instead

I forgot about the shit-eating grin Ludger gives when Balan remarks that he didn't know Julius had a brother. He really is the smug, ornery little brother

Though shop expansion is gone, the cats are fun to collect and send out. Every time we get a new one my sister admires its appearance.

There's a cat named "Swagmo." Me: "It's the cooler version of Venmo."

Teepo is back and still annoying but the amount of hate my sister directs at him has gone down considerably thanks to Elle. She still wishes Teepo had stayed in his "coffin" though

My sister didn't even recognize Leia at first because of her hat. As soon as she could she plonked it on Ludger's head instead.

How the hell did Gaius knock a gun out of a guy's hand with a six foot katana. That hand should have come clean off.

I had forgotten just how little the characters react to all the weird stuff happening, like Ludger's powers or running into evil Rowens. They joke about it later that they're just used to crazy things by now but still they barely comment or speculate at all.

She liked the skit where Alvin complains that Leia sends him frog memes. These are the kind of skits I love about this game.

Looks like we're blackmailed into working for Spirius. Sis: "This is going to be one of those things where we work for the bad guy for a while until we realize we have to stop him."

We started calling the CEO Ronald Bisley. Sorry dude your name just isn't very intimidating.

I commented that the Spirius HQ music kinda sounds like Mario Kart music, which goes well with the way my sister dashes everywhere. Its hilarious to imagine Ludger just full on sprinting at the employees, crashing into glass doors, sliding barefoot on the floor in his pajamas. Why did they hire him again 😂

We stopped there, another break of loan repayment and sidequesting. Sis: "I wish Biden would cancel some of my debt 😒"

masterpost here

[atopearth]

Nightshade Part 2 - Momochi Chojiro Route

I'm most excited for Chojiro (and Hanzo too I guess!) so yayayay~ I always liked how supportive he was towards Enju's growth as a shinobi and always trying to give her opportunities to do things outside of what she's used to so she can develop her own independence. It pains me to choose the option of standing up for Chojiro against Hanzo since it just makes the situation "worse", but seeing Chojiro be so kind to Enju and understand and appreciate that she didn't want them to see Chojiro in a bad light was so heartwarming. Ohhh, so Hanzo has been with the Tokugawa since he was 12 years old after they made an offer for him, mmm that's interesting. Anyway, I liked how Enju infiltrated as a maid into the estate to copy Goemon's note saying he'd steal stuff from them. I feel like everyone is really nice to her so they kinda unintentionally "leave her out" because she has no experience, so I'm glad Chojiro is constantly trying to build her up with different tasks but always being there to support her when she makes the decision thinking that she probably needs help with something. It's really cool how proactive Enju is, and how much she wants to help out everyone and be on the same level as them. I also think it's kinda cute how Enju holding on to Chojiro's sleeve when they went home after training as kids was a cute memory to share.

Enju shopping with Chojiro was cute, it really feels like rather than being "cold" like how he looks, Chojiro is actually just awkward and doesn't know how to treat people he regards as important? It was kinda sad when he said he usually doesn't have things important to him because he doesn't want to lose them (when Enju bought him a handkerchief), I wonder what he'll do when he realises that Enju is much more important to him than he thinks? Omggg I didn't expect Chojiro to hold her hand and walk around!! That's cuteee! I also love how she told him it's a peaceful era now, so he should treasure things without needing to worry about losing them. Considering he lost his whole village and his parents when he was 6 years old, that must have been hard to witness as a survivor. Ohh, so the ninjutsu Enju used to capture Goemon was from Iga! It was nice to see how happy Chojiro was when she told him that, making him feel that Iga still lives on in some way even if the village is gone. Honestly, I was pretty touched when Chojiro tried to accompany Enju to Hideyoshi, and then even tried to stop her for a moment. On the other hand, I'm not sure why Enju's father had such an evil laugh after disowning his daughter to save the village.. Unless, he really did send someone to kill Hideyoshi, and maybe that someone was actually Kuroyuki😟 Anyway, I felt bad for Chojiro. He wants to be as reckless as Gekkamaru and be able to throw away everything and run to Enju and save her, but his responsibilities and his position make that basically impossible because of the consequences it would ensue. Maybe if he was a "less important" figure and shinobi to Koga he could, and I feel like he would have wished that at this moment.

Kando ordering Chojiro and them to go hunt down Enju and Gekkamaru was pretty cruel, like wow, you really don't care about your daughter at all, now I don't even want to imagine what his wife might have went through before she died. On the other hand, it's pretty frustrating to hear the villagers talk bad about Enju (after being influenced by Kando's words etc) considering how much Enju sincerely wanted to repay them for their kindness. But I guess it's not like they really saw Enju for herself even when they "liked" her anyway. They just liked her because she was a symbol of peace, meaning that they could live a peaceful life, so now that she's disrupting it and reminding them that if she doesn't die, then the Tensho Iga War where the Iga village was decimated would occur again, then of course they would disregard her life. I'm just sad that Chojiro feels like he's not allowed to have a "choice" on what to do because he knows the pain of what a war can cause, and how he thinks that he needs to be ruthless and do it so that Ennosuke and them don't need to bear that pain of killing someone important to them. I kinda like how Kyara found her resolve to follow the order to kill Enju. She loves and cherishes Enju, but at the same time, she loves her family too and doesn't want to lose them, she chose what was most important to her, and I think it was very understandable. On the other hand, even though I find Kasumi kinda annoying sometimes with all the crying lol, it's understandable how she couldn't find the resolve to kill Enju even if she understood the consequences. Honestly though, they've said that Kasumi isn't good at fighting so I'm not sure why she's even on an assassination mission separated from the others lol. I knew Gekkamaru would prioritise Enju above the village, but actually hearing him say that everyone and the village could die if it meant Enju was all right was pretty wow. I understand though tbh, and honestly I have to agree with him. It's a dangerous sentiment but honestly, at times I remember those feelings of mine where I thought that if I had to choose between this character's life or the world, I'd definitely choose this character's life because a world where they don't exist is basically meaningless. I think the most apparent one was when I played Tales of Xillia 2 and instead of the good ending or whatever, I really just wanted the ending where Ludger chooses to save his brother haha.

Anyway, it's sad but understandable why Enju feels "ready" to die. I think if I knew my friends had to kill me to save things important to me too, I probably wouldn't have much of a will to live. It was nice to see Chojiro and Enju fight against each other like they're training, but I nearly cried for Enju when Chojiro was strangling her. I'm glad Kuroyuki came and saved her because even though Chojiro is evidently hesitant, I'm not sure if he really would have stopped, since he could have collected himself after, but at the same time, the fact that he even hesitated shows that he probably won't be able to do it. Anyway, there's something really heartwarming about both brothers (Gekkamaru and Kuroyuki) being so devoted to protecting Enju above all else. They're so different, but when it comes to Enju, they're honestly pretty obsessed with her in their own way. I honestly didn't expect Gekkamaru to die. It was true that even though Kuroyuki and Gekkamaru are brothers, they've always been well versed in fighting solo, so it's understandable how Kyara and Ennosuke could get the upper hand. I felt so bad for everyone though. Kuroyuki covered Enju from everything. Gekkamaru was tormented in his death because he wouldn't be able to protect Enju anymore. Ennosuke was sad that he couldn't go back to the village with Kyara, nor did he get to tell her his feelings, and then she got killed by the Nokizaru shinobi in front of him. It's sad that Enju didn't get the resolve to fight against them until everything became pretty much a nightmare since maybe Gekkamaru wouldn't have died if she helped, but at the same time, it's impossible to fault her for it. I think I feel sorry for Chojiro having come too late. I can't imagine the feeling of burying your disciples, especially since he was also the one who told them that they needed the resolve to kill Enju and that they were shinobi who had to succeed in their missions. I feel bad for Kasumi though. So young, so naive, and she probably feels responsible for the Nokizaru being there, when honestly, they would have been there either way, but yeah seeing all her respected older "brothers" and "sister" die killing each other would shatter anyone..

Enju realising that the village would be destroyed if she didn't die made me so sad. It's not wrong to have the desire to live, but it's understandably terrible to think that if she died back in the prison, then Gekkamaru and them would have been alive. Hearing Chojiro finally be able to express his feelings and understand that despite how much he wanted to continue being a "shinobi" that fulfilled his missions and nothing else, thinking that if he didn't fulfill his missions, it was basically death to him, really broke my heart. Mainly because he thought that losing his way as a shinobi by hesitating to kill Enju was what he was most scared and tormented about, but when he saw the lifeless bodies of his disciples, he finally realised that before being a shinobi, he is also human. He can't help but have feelings, he can't help but feel emotions even if he cannot express them or show them, because he can still feel them regardless. His disciples and Enju are more important to him than his missions, and realising that must hurt a lot.. I really wanted Kasumi to survive at least but I guess it wasn't meant to be, especially since she felt responsible for everything that happened. I also feel bad for Kasumi because she had to be the "dumb" character that causes trouble for everyone and then dies in a silly preventable way just because the story doesn't really need her anymore and might as well add to Enju's grief lol. I mean, I doubt Chojiro would have been hit by those poison needles if he didn't get shocked by Kasumi's actions and try to think of a way to save her even though it was too late, so then that made him slower to react to protecting Enju imo.

I thought it was sweet how Enju told Chojiro to hold her hand instead of grasping it so hard that it injures him, so that she can keep his happiness there (since he said his hand itches whenever he's about to lose something important to him), and even if she can't protect it, at least she can give him warmth. Aww it was so unfair that Chojiro made Enju admit that she liked the idea of them being a couple but he didn't say anything about it to her so now she's confused about whether he likes it too or not🥺 Otherwise, now that Chojiro has decided to live with the "consequences" of wanting her to stay alive, it's nice to see how much more honest and talkative he can be even if he is a bit awkward since he's so used to talking like a teacher hahaha. I knew Hideyoshi's death was suspicious and I wondered if he really was dead, but his appearance, his arrogance and his reveal that it was all like a succession game where every one of Enju's friends that were sent to hunt her down represented one of the Elders and whoever won would be Hideyori's guardian, it was all so frustrating to watch. When I think about how desperate Ennosuke and Kyara were to resolve themselves as shinobi and fulfil their missions as they should, it makes me sick to think that it was for a "master" like this who thought of them all as disposable pawns. Kanda being happy about it and the idea of getting a nice reward from it for Koga just made me think yeah, it's nice that true shinobi don't exist anymore. No one should have to go through that pain of having to be a "robot" with no emotions, existing just to be loyal to a master you barely see or know, giving your life to something that barely affects yourself, it's just so heartbreaking and anger inducing. It was nice to see Chojiro tell Enju his feelings, and then they escape together during the match🥰 It's kinda amusing how both Goemon and Kuroyuki knew to pop up now and save them haha, but I think I'm most glad that Hanzo decided to help them escape too, like I guess it was expected since it was obvious he didn't like it, but I still liked seeing it, especially when he teased Enju about giving Chojiro the antidote mouth to mouth before haha. I quite liked the bad ending! Chojiro and Enju committing suicide together was quite bittersweet and honestly one of the only choices they had if Chojiro was too injured to escape and none of them wanted to live without the other.

Overall, I really like Chojiro as a character but I think I found his route rather lacklustre. It wasn't bad, but I think the story wasn't able to build a proper connection between Chojiro and Enju before they separated in order for me to really empathise with their feelings towards each other, and so I feel like I kinda had to supplement it myself by understanding what kind of person Chojiro is. I enjoyed the dilemma Ennosuke and them had in regards to following the way of life for a shinobi and how that all ended up with the different perspectives of everyone trying their best to protect what was most important to them. However, I do think the deaths lacked impact, especially Kasumi's. I liked how Chojiro and Enju understood each other so well, but I didn't really feel the romance sadly, even though I liked how bittersweet everything was since they had to experience all these deaths that were so personal to them. The ending was pretty short in the sense that it felt like they just wanted to resolve it but not put too much thought into it, so yeah lol that was disappointing. I guess I mainly liked how they discussed the pain of being a shinobi and how Chojiro was only able to "wake up" from this responsibility after losing so many important things, but I honestly wanted something more? Considering he was the previous Iga leader's son, I thought there would be more about that, his responsibility to the survivors of his village and other stuff like that, but yeah oh well.

[skittymon]

Finally finished Tales of Eternia!! 

And that makes 11th tales games finished and 15th overall played in some degree (Phantasia, Legendia, Innocence, and DotNW being the ones I havent finished yet).

Once I started again in December I decided that instead of liveblogging I’d make a review at the end instead.

So here we go! I will keep this spoiler free as possible!

I’m pretty scatterbrained but I’ll try to divide this into: combat, story, characters, and other game mechanics.

Combat: So obviously, the combat is above Phantasia and Destiny’s, being made after them. I honestly have grown fond of the 2d linear style format. There’s so many different boss fights in this game that can only work in a 2d field rather than 3d. 

On the flip side, that’s not always a good thing. I count bosses like the wild dog thing in Vesperia, and Fodra Queen of Graces to be among the hardest mandatory boss fights in tales. Welp, Eternia added one to the ranks. Rem (aka Aska the light spirit) is one of the most frustrating boss fights I’ve done. Apart from constantly slowing healing itself, on the field it brings a shiny ball with it. You cannot destoy the orb, it’s there all fight, and if you touch it it hurts you. And of course it blocks the way to Rem. There is a way past it, it moves up and down so you just have to wait until its up to move past. BUT GUESS WHAT THE AI DOESNT DO. So your party will probably either be dying or constantly in pain. AND REM CAN MOVE THE ORD ANYWHERE. Also you cant physically hit Rem while its casting a spell only far away skills. So if you ever play this game just cheese it and spam variations of Sonic Blade.

Of course, on the flip side it’s every easy for you to cheese boss fights and just back them up into a corner unable to move or do anything until they die, so it evens out.

The sprite animations for the artes are gorgeous. Reid moves so fluidly in his artes, he’s honestly my third favorite protag to play as behind Yuri and Ludger because of this. The caster animations are great as well, granted it can become cluttered and hard to see in when artes like blizzard and earth shaker are used. BUT GOD DAMN I CAN WATCH MEREDY USE METEOR ALL DAY IT LOOKS SO COOL.

Nitpicks about the combat system are, Life, the reviving spell Farah has, takes to long to charge, and for Meredy and Keele to use healing artes you have to mix and match who has what craymel (spirit). There might be a guide but I didnt look beyond reddit so Life was the only resurrection spell I had. 

Last nitpick comes from the Aurora Artes. Aurora Artes are skills only Reid can use, but in order to use them you have to have health below 15% and press circle, square, and x at the same time, so it’s very easy to mess up and die. Then to use more Aurora Artes you press the same buttons repeatedly, and after you use them Reid is left with 1 hp. AND the final boss has an automatic kill skill, you have to press the buttons at the right time to activate it and keep everyone alive, or you can cheese it like I did and have Farah hold a reverse doll to revive her after she dies. Did I also mention this skill happens in phase 2 of the fight when the bosses health is less than 20,000 after starting from 300,000? If you fuck up thats like 10mins of redoing.

But to end on a better note for this section, I love the way artes are learned. You have to use certain artes a number of times before you can unlock it (I THINK abyss and vesperia and many others are like this but this is the first time I found it rewarding). I grinded like hell to get the best artes for Reid AND YOU BET IT WAS WORTH IT. Omega Demon Chaos I love you,,,,

Story: Like countless other Tales titles, the conflict comes from two worlds being at odds with each other. However this game does something that none of the other games have done with this story beat. Language barriers! It’s super cool in the first couple of hours theyre just trying to figure out how to talk with Meredy. Of course by the end this point is nearly dropped entirely, everyone else just getting the special ear ring I spent 3 hours to get so the plot can move on.

Like most tales, theres a moment you thought the story would end but BOOM the twist. I wasn’t shocked by it, but that’s because I knew who the final antagonist of the game was prior to playing it, but still it was executed well. 

Something that makes this Tales stand out is how they deal with backstory. So the main fours backstory is vital to the story and their characters but they don’t show it till like 20 hours in. It’s like if Graces you start off in main arc and learn about the childhood arc 2/3 of the way through and went “ohhhh that’s why they were distant with each other.” And other stuff about it but I won’t spoil it.

Overall a good story, though I do feel like I’m missing things either from missing some side quests, or because of no skits.

Characters: The main ones to shine are the four main characters (Reid, Farah, Keele, and Meredy), everyone else literally is either one dungeon and/or optionable. Chat does still feel like a character being the owner of the Van Elita aka means of transportation for half the game. Max and Ras tho rip. ESPECIALLY MAX. Ya know how every tales there’s the mandatory Talk Before The Final Battle? Yea well they all get one except Max. You see him, but he doesnt talk, YET THEY CRAYMELS DO.

Another odd, yet charming, thing is that there’s no big moment of character development for anyone like Luke cutting his hair, Magilou keeping the portal open, or punch in the face like Alvin. They just. Slowly change. And its really weird cause for all of disc 1 Keele is basically an unbearable asshole and he just? Learns to be a better person from everything he sees? There’s no callout or moment of realization, he just slowly learns and it’s super refreshing. 

Reid is probably one of the most relatable protagonists up there with Jude. I’m sure most of you know the “he doesn’t want to do shit lol” persona he has BUT GOD WHY HE’S LIKE THAT BABY I LOVE YOU. Farah’s personality is also explained in the backstory, so for any of you crestoria players that Farah’s backstory is really different like how Emil’s is, but the sentiment of why she’s like that is the same and stem for a similar event.

Meredy’s also great. I thought I’d get annoyed of her and her “You bet!” but god when she says it the last time at the end of the game, I was pretty moved. I wish I knew more about her backstory but I’m pretty sure a certain section of her life info was left to skits and ya know we didn’t get those till Symphonia :)))

As antagonists go, besides the Craymels who are there to test you before you get their power, there’s just two. Main boss and their lackey. The lackey is eh. You see him once at the beginning of the game, then see him destroy a  city, then one last time where you kill him. You do get his backstory and stuff but eh I’m usually not fond of tales mini villains minus Chimerad, God Generals, and Artorius’s lackeys

The main antagonist tho, I really don’t wanna spoil it but it’s hard to talk about why I’m conflicted on it without spoiling. So it’s like Destiny’s final boss but written better in some part and worse in others. So at one point it’s super emotional and pretty powerful with the message eternia wants to send but at the same points its a jrpg where you gotta kill god cause he doesn’t think humans are worth it. 

Oh one more thing thats honestly hilarious, there’s literally SINGLE animated cutscene by Production I.G in this entire game minus the op. 

Other things: the amount of mini games in this game is insane, but the amount you have to do IN JUST THE SECOND DISC to continue the plot is more than any other tales game I can recall. Some of them are fun like the card game, others like the bomb one I want to throw in a fire. 

There’s also so much Destiny pandering in this game. There’s portraits of the characters, you can collect lens, I’m 95% sure the way a certain character is done is because they wanted another Leon, you can SUMMON THE SWORDIAN USERS ARE AS AN ACTUAL SUMMON. While all Phantasia gets is the cameo battle and the Eternal Sword. I mean I didn’t mind cause I’ve finished Destiny and it’s one of my fav tales games but damn it was pretty obvious. 

EXPLORATION IS SO FUN IN THIS GAME. Mainly near the end when you have free reigns. YOU CAN DIVE UNDERWAY AND EXPLORE THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA WHAT OTHER TALES GAME LETS YOU DO THAT??? 

In conclusion: A fun game! I don’t think it was worth 133 dollars tho consider my play file was 35 hours and thats with a good chuck of side quests and ex bosses. Probably in my top 5 combat systems of tales and final villains, but not in terms of story or characters. A really hope it gets remastered soon I’d love for more people to play it.

[memorydragon]

Xillia 2

Some thoughts on Xillia 2.  As always, there will be spoilers.

I feel like sequels are the place where Tales decides to try random new genres.  Symphonia 2 was all gotta catch ‘em all in terms of monsters, whereas Xillia 2 is like, persona wannabe. 

Which is to say, it had all the things I really disliked about Persona 5 along with not being nearly as good at being Persona genre since Tales doesn’t quite mesh with that and it’s their first go at it.  As much as I appreciate all areas from the previous game being open and explore-able, I needed actual reasons to go there other than, go there and explore to get treasure!  Occasionally fight a rare monster!  On one hand, I do appreciate the fact that it wasn’t forced in terms of plot, but I got really bored with the “new areas opened up for you!” and doing nothing but repaying my debt. 

I would have so much preferred to have actual characterization for Ludger rather than fake choices that either don’t particularly matter or have a ‘right’ answer to get affection.  I really think instead of a silent protag, they should have just let Ludger talk while allowing you make your choices.  Because as it is, it comes off as everyone loving this random dude who can barely string two words together, except when the player has a choice, then he can say full sentences.  Like, they couldn’t commit to one or the other, and they didn’t have the finesse that Persona 5 did making the character more of a quiet person who doesn’t talk often. 

It will also probably not surprise anyone who’s listened to me talk about my gaming adventures before, but I’m definitely a speed melee fighter.  Where the original Xillia gave me semi-hybrid characters (Milla the caster and Jude the healer) to play around with, which I liked, with Ludger I basically stuck to his duel blades.  I could use the hammer, but it was slow and I much prefer fast attacks, so I just didn’t use it terribly often.  And the guns were just... so boring to use for me.  Stand off to the side and shoot! just had no actual appeal to me.  The only time I really used the guns was to link with Alvin, which also kind of annoyed me because I like linking with Alvin (he’s a fave and his ability is useful).  I know you’re supposed to switch through the weapons, but I just really didn’t feel it at all.  This left me with the feeling of “hey, you should be utilizing this jack of all trades properly!” but not doing that, because it just wasn’t worth the effort. 

I also really missed being able to pull in any character at any time.  I honestly felt that was one of the strengths of Xillia, that I could use any and all characters whenever I wanted, but Xillia 2 limits you to four per dungeon, often choosing which four characters for you rather than letting you decide.  Which left the character interactions as very segmented, sadly.  Jude only really interacted with Milla because their character episodes were always together.  Same for Alvin and Leia, Muzet and Gaius, and Rowen and Elize.  So you didn’t get any real interaction between Alvin and anyone except for Leia for example, which a shame because his relationship with Jude and Milla were the most interesting of the original game and his relationship with Elize was precious and good for his character development (and hers too, coming out of her shell and trusting).  This was especially tragic with Muzet and Gaius, who were not playable in the original game and really only interacted with each other.  I would have loved to see Gaius and Muzet with the whole group.  It even made Muzet’s character episodes really kind of awkward, because she wanted to be friends with Milla’s friends but you never saw her... actually talk to them meaningfully.  I really wanted Muzet and Milla to have more interaction too.

That said, I did enjoy the game.  Of the new characters, I’m sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that I’m a sucker for Julius.  A terrible person (child really) taking in a baby who in turn adopts them and melts their heart?  Yeah, sign me the fuck up.  Julius going from “I’m taking in this small child to abuse their powers and get revenge on someone” to “this seven year old burned his hands trying to make me dinner and now I must Protect the Smol, fml” is exactly what I’m here for.  I really just needed a lot more of him in the game too.  Like, less downtime paying debts and more brothers.  I definitely cried when we had to kill him.  I watched the ‘bad’ ending to see if I could handle it and was like, nope.  But then actually killing Julius was like, THIS IS WAY WORSE FUCK. 

And as much as I rag on the whole paying you debts downtime, I’ll admit, it’s also one of the charms of the game.  As I mentioned in a previous post, it’s 100% millennial wish fulfillment to have a staggering amount of unfair debt that you can actually pay off eventually with your new found family to help you.  No job?  No problem!  Your friends will still help you pay off your debt by killing monsters with you.   Like, all the advice was to pay off the debt post game.  And I was just like, no.  I’m paying this fucker off now.  And I did.  Honestly, Tales throwing in a chrono trigger hilarity ending was beautiful, especially with all the comments from everyone in the credits. 

Also, I would be remiss if I did not mention the best part of the game: Rollo. 

Listen.

Rollo is just... so majestic.  So perfect.  So profoundly round.  Any time Rollo is on screen was just beautiful.  His weird ass meow when getting sent off for items always leaves me clutching my chest and saying “I love you.”  The characters having a long chat?  Rollo’s just gonna be curled up for a cat nap.  He comes everywhere with you, plodding after you, which is beautiful. 

The best part is that it’s two brothers who are both bachelors who are Rollo’s owners.  There’s none of this cats are feminine over-sexualized nonsense.  Julius will cuddle Rollo until Rollo’s like FUCK OFF NO TOUCH and Ludger 100% melts when it’s freezing out and Rollo’s like WARM ME HUMAN.  They’ve both spoiled this cat rotten and I love it.  All of the characters end up just loving cats too.  Like, even the ones that professed to be dog people in the last game are charmed by Rollo.  Even Jude who is allergic, gets Soft with Rollo.  Gaius being all “There’s so many cats...” and Milla being like, why are you smiling so much? was just beautiful.  THE FOUR BEING ALL CATS CAN COME FOR FREE LETTING ROLLO COME TO THE FINAL BATTLE.  More jrpgs need to love cats as much as Xillia 2 and Anaden do, ngl. 

Also, Elle admonishing Ludger saying “Be a more attentive kitty-daddy!” is honestly one of my favorite lines of the game.

Alvin’s story was particularly rude in it’s feels, mostly because they canonized my self-projection, which I was honestly not expecting.  I now have a lot of Aro-Alvin feels.  Depressed Alvin still hits really hard too.  It also makes me sad once again that Alvin barely interacted with Milla or Jude at all though, because I really need my Aro/bi-Alvin/Ace Milla/Bi Jude ship fix.  (Yes, Ace Milla.  She reacts to reading about human sex the exact same way I reacted to reading about bdsm, which is to say LOOK HUMAN CULTURE! THIS IS FASCINATING AND TOTALLY FOREIGN BUT FASCINATING NONETHELESS.  Though at one point, I do want her to be talking to Muzet and being like, yeah, I’ve tethered with both of them at the same time and her big sister being completely scandalized.)  I also really wanted more of Alvin and Balan, since I feel like that relationship was highly underutilized.  It was also sadly ignored in this game.

Gaius ended up becoming a fave, mostly because they still went with him being charismatic af and kingly, but added “100% walking disaster” and “technologically inept”  as well.  Him realizing he could have been real friends with the Chimeriad was kind of heart breaking and him being begrudgingly soft with Muzet was fun.  Just, like I said, I wish he could have interacted more with the others.

Chronos had so much potential, ngl.  Except that’s all it was, potential.  I wish they’d actually done more with him?  You don’t find out he was friends with Origin and that was why he was so antagonistic until five seconds to the end of the game.  Which worked in Phantasia, not finding out why Dhaos was the way he was until after, but there was a lot of build up to that which Xillia failed to do with Chronos.  I’d have liked to actually see more of his friendship with Origin too. 

I won’t lie, everyone in the game having flip phones was hilarious and beautiful.  I need more flip phones in my fantasy games, Tales.  Knowing which characters canonly use too many emojis needs to be more of a thing.

The whole “Ludger can take out the entire party by himself” thing was... well.  I can see why some people get upset about it, and honestly, it was a bit ridiculous.  But for me it’s hand-wavy video game-ness that I can generally ignore.  I dunno, maybe it’s because I’ve played Persona 5 so I was expecting the Over-OP wish fulfillment on Ludger’s part.  I mean, it’s not something I particularly like, but it’s a game genre thing, so I just didn’t care that much I suppose? 

I did love all the Phantasia call backs though.  I’ve seen some people upset that Milla was not the All Powerful Lord of Spirits, but for me, it was always like, Maxwell is Lord of the Four elements and lesser spirits, but there were always other spirits in the upper houses that were just as powerful and not under Maxwell’s rule.  And other spirits being just as powerful doesn’t take away from Milla’s character in my opinion.  And the spyrites essentially being Phantasia summonable spirits really made my day. 

That said, I was definitely disappointed when Jude’s Maxwell summon was not tons of little Maxwell balls bouncing off of everything.

Fractured Milla deserved better, definitely.  And I did like her as a character.  But I suppose I really don’t have much to say about that particular plot point that hasn’t already been said by others or is fairly obvious.

When all’s said and done, I enjoyed Xillia 2 for what it was.  I didn’t particularly care for the Elle disappearing ending, if just because the game treated it like a ‘lesser’ ending and the whole ELLE’S MOTHER IS HERE is a squick of mine, like, would he even actually fall in love with her or is he just going to be like, I’m really attached to the daughter we haven’t actually had yet.  Ludger disappearing ending did make me cry.  Tales does like sacrificing its protag every couple of games, which I’m ambient to at this point.  I was 100% not okay with Rollo running up to Elle after Ludger disappeared though, because he’s lost his two humans and those are feels I’m not meant to handle. 

If I were the sort of person that meme’d, I’d make one of those “Would you fuck your clone” posts, but with “Would you kill your alternative self” thing for this game.  Because the game takes “is it technically suicide if you kill yourself in another dimension” far too seriously.  Sadly, I’m not much a meme-ing person. 

Not my favorite Tales game, but still enjoyable and Tales enough for me, really.

On a completely different note, I’ve played the Luke side story in Crestoria, and first of all, this dumbass, I love him, but just cut his hair already.  Mainly though, Luke, LET MUZET COME WITH YOU.  Sure her morals are a bit funky, but her heart is in the right place.  Mostly.  But really, Alisha, Luke, and Muzet as travel buddies would honestly just be hilarious.  I’m down with that.

[doctorcanon]

Tales of Mash Up Weapon Changes

I’m changing a lot of the weapons styles in the Tales of Mash Up because all the protagonists have Swords except Jude and Ludger and their movesets just annoy me. Still looking for a beta on this one, send me an ask if curious.

Velvet: No changes to retractable sword/ demon claw combo. Except that Velvet is not initially a fighter. She was a nun, not a hunter like her initial characterization and relies heavily on her demon claw instead. The retractable blade is hidden like in Assassin’s Creed. She’s also the most acrobatic fighter out of all of them. She’s basically Ezio Auditore.

Sorey: Like Velvet, he’s a holy man, not a fighter. I’ve made his ceremonial sword a staff instead. So his moveset is basically the same as Mikleo’s which would make sense as they’ve grown up and trained together. However, his style is very strange because normally only Malaks normally fight with a staff. Talented Artes caster.

Jude: Initially starts out as a brawler but Cheria brings up the fact that a doctor should be more careful with his hands and teaches him to throw knives. Seriously though, it will never not bug me that Jude - a scientist who should be taking care of his hands - PUNCHES things. Like I get it and it fits his character development but it still bothers me. He also learns his way around a spear. Jude learning things from others is kind of a theme in this story. He also knows how to shoot a gun. Also a very talented Artes caster.

Milla: No changes really. I love Milla’s saber. Her fighting style is cobbled together by watching humans and like in the original Xillia, out of necessity. Because Elympios likes hunting Malaks. The strongest party member. Only uses offensive artes, much to Sorey’s dismay.

Ludger: I hate Ludger’s fighting stance. It makes no logical sense. Seriously, why would you learn a fighting style that requires you to reach across your entire body just to hit someone?! IT DOESN’T EVEN LOOK COOL IS JUST LOOKS DUMB. I digress. Ludger is basically Ignis from FF15 now; fighting with daggers and is fairly capable with a spear. Unexpectedly violent and often merciless. Also can use firearms which only Elympions really know how to operate. Has 0 scruples about straight up shooting someone in the face. Can’t use Artes.

Asbel: Like Milla, very little change except his sword is now a Katana because it makes more sense but he literally fights like a samurai. Traditional Hyland fighting style. Can use Offensive Artes.

Luke: Once again, no real changes, but his sword is much bigger. It’s worth noting how crazy strong he is. He does not know his own strength and even worse, doesn’t understand why that’s a bad thing. A lot of the gore in this story is his doing. Can use artes but is honestly just not good at it. 

Yuri: Dropping the swords because everyone has swords, but I’m still keeping the hand axes. Sometimes has two hand axes. Throws them quite a bit too. Don’t worry he still punches things. Trained as a knight like the original game and uses only offensive artes native to his home of Zaphias.

[kresnikcest]

oo when you're not busy I'd *love* to hear your thoughts on non-talkative Ludger 👀

I still have deadlines BUT

tbh I’d recommend this fic for smol not very talkative Ludger (it is shipfic after a time skip HOWEVER if you don’t read past the scene break then it’s a perfectly heartwarming gen fic that I really recommend for being like one of the three fics that acknowledges Claudia’s death)

I’d also recommend this fic for Fractured Ludger talking but Prime Ludger not and Julius getting POV on that

Anyway some 3am thoughts not in order:

Julius initially doesn’t really worry that much that Ludger doesn’t talk, bc the kid’s shy and suffering from amnesia from watching his mom get killed and pre-pasta Julius is just glad he’s not that annoying to deal with

Marvin can’t really say if Ludger talked much before his amnesia because he never really saw Claudia to avoid someone following them, so it’s up in the air whether or not Ludger was always this quiet or if it’s bc of the amnesia

Julius just figures that Ludger seems fine enough for a kid his age and the teachers just gently encourage him to open up a bit to other classmates. This doesn’t really work despite Julius’ best efforts...

Post-pasta Julius does start worrying bc “oh no what if I’ve traumatised this kid irreparably it’s all my fault” but Ludger does get more comfortable talking to Julius at least, and some of the neighbours, but mostly Julius because. *gestures to Ludger’s minimal friendships*

[aims projector] maybe a tiny bit of selectively mute Ludger where he gets quiet under stress or with strangers and Julius is exceedingly normal about Ludger depending on him for help

(Kijara Seafalls affinity choices could have NOT had Julius’ affinity go up if Ludger can’t figure out how to save Elle..)

Otherwise Ludger is sometimes as chatty as Fractured Ch15 Ludger is, but most of the time though he’s more calm and quiet and doesn’t need to be that open.

To what extent Fractured Ludger was wish fulfilment for Julius and what extent he was an accurate representation of Ludger... well 😋 I think Julius just likes feeling special...

Ultimately Ludger just doesn’t really. feel the need to talk that much. Julius gets him just fine and Ludger has mastered the ability to glare in disapproval when Julius overfeeds Rollo.

Anyway this one was actually your HC if I recall correctly but 10/10 Ludger knowing Elympion sign language and sometimes signing even when he talks and he and Elle get to bond over that bc Victor taught Elle to sign too (though he never explained why...)

Elle doesn’t realise that Ludger and Victor do little signing quirks that are alike. Julius does though.

After the game starts Ludger gets even less talkative because he’s in a very stressful situation and Julius isn’t there to help, but Jude’s very kind and Elle also helps interpret for him so it works out

Stealing from my seraph headcanons but since Muzet is a spirit she’s just a little bit telepathic/empathic and so she understands Ludger pretty well and they get along for that (even though Ludger does find it a bit creepy that he can’t lie to her... but Muzet is Muzet so she just finds it funny)

Ludger eventually feels comfortable enough to talk more to the party besides Elle, but conversely he ends up clamming up with Julius and it’s partially out of sheer spite and frustration but. Well Julius is Julius so he just self-deprecates under the assumption that ofc Ludger doesn’t really need him and feels more at ease with his new friends and he’s just lost that privilege (<<< absurd statement)

Some Fractured Ludgers are just that much chattier, like the way Milla’s personality isn’t the same. Julius gets used to it but he’s always grateful to go back to Prime Ludger no matter what. Still, all Ludgers are Ludger to him, so he notices the differences

Victor has definitely got a much better handle on talking since he’s older, and he’s very at ease with Elle anyway. Knowing everything Ludger doesn’t also helps his confidence. The murder does too.

I’m torn between Ludger going nonverbal during Chapter 15 or saying more words in a conversation than the party have ever heard from him and both options are devastating

Prime Ludger teaches Prime Elle to sign, even though he knows she’ll never need it to talk to him, not the same way Victor maybe have wanted. Elle still mirrors his quirks in gestures and it breaks his heart.

Bad End Best End no matter what Ludger finds some words to ask Julius what he wants for dinner and assure him that he was doing what Julius did for him and tell Julius he’ll do anything to have some time left with him I love this game

[delkios]

Brings My Soul so Close to You (ToRays/ToV)

Please continue to pardon any inaccuracies with characterizations as I still haven't gotten around to familiarizing myself with games other than Vesperia and Rays. Title for Wonders Never Cease by Morcheeba. Thanks to suguelya for giving it a look-through.

(dreamwidth) (pillowfort) (AO3) Title: Brings My Soul so Close to You Fandom: Tales of the Rays, Tales of Vesperia Rating: PG Word Count: 7203 Characters: Flynn, Yuri, Hubert, Estelle, Velvet, Ludger, Mikleo, Ami and Ix Summary: Set in a nebulous post-Mirrage Prison timeframe. Five different looks into Yuri and Flynn's relationship "Yo. You still doing the perfume thing?" Hubert looked up from his book, eying Yuri carefully as he lounged up against the door frame. "I do." Hubert didn't particularly dislike the swordsman but they also rarely interacted, leaving Hubert to mostly know of Yuri through his reputation which... had some worryingly unsaid parts to it. "I thought you didn't care for it." He shrugged, not quite looking at Hubert and Hubert couldn't decide if it was an actual sign of nonchalance or a show of it. "I don't really, but it seems pretty popular with everyone else and there's been a couple I've liked." "Okay, then." He still wasn't sure if Yuri was being honest with him or not but Hubert couldn't really see how this could be a joke. He pulled a piece of paper and pen from a nearby desk. "Did you already have a scent in mind?"

~*~*~*~ "A scent?" "Yes. Your friend, Yuri, came to ask me to make perfume for him- his first, actually -and I realized that I don't believe anyone told you this is something we do." Hubert said, his posture formal but relaxed. Flynn was much more comfortable for him to interact with than Yuri. He chalked it up to mutual military professionalism. "People make requests for what kind of perfume they'd like- specific scents, if they have any in mind -and I try my best to create a perfume to their satisfaction. I will admit that it's been far more successful than I expected." "That seems like a lot of work," Flynn said, "having one person do all that." Hubert chuckled lightly. "Oh, the material gathering is shared with others. Normally I give a list to groups going out foraging or getting supplies. The actual mixing is done by myself." "And it won't be too much trouble making something for me?" "Not at all. Most people reorder perfumes I've made previously so I don't often get a chance to make an entirely new one. I'd appreciate the challenge." "Hm. Where we grew up, perfume was only used by the rich or for special occasions. Even when I was able to afford such things, it never occurred to do so, so I never really gave it much thought." Flynn tilted his head, eyes glancing upward as he thought. "I guess... Yuri?" It took a moment for Hubert to realize what he said. "I'm sorry, you want it to smell like Yuri?" "When we were little, we used to share everything: toys, clothes, even a bed. He was always with me through the hardest years of my life." Flynn laughed, ruffling his hair. "It's embarrassing to admit but my mind eventually came to associate his scent with comfort. I know it's silly but they say smells are closely tied to memories." Hubert smiled, warm and full of emotion. "No, actually. I think that's wonderful." Hubert immediately regretted his words. It took nearly a week of gathering and experimentation before he was finally able to approach Estelle with two bottles of perfume. "Yuri," he said crisply, setting one bottle down, "Flynn," he set the other down, a hand span away. "They actually asked for perfume?" Estelle asked with surprise. Ever since Hubert was persuaded to allow distribution of his perfumes, he'd gotten Estelle to name them. "That's a surprise, I didn't think Yuri liked using anything scented asides from soap. And Flynn always had to borrow perfume from other officers before official events." She giggled to herself as she picked up the bottle Hubert had said was for Yuri. As she opened the bottle, Hubert said, "It's an odd combination and it took me a bit to get the balance right, but I think it turned out well." Estelle sniffed lightly. "It's smells... like the ocean? And something flowery?" "Ocean and cherry blossoms." Among other things to help blend the two scents together. Estelle looked at Hubert for a moment, a slow smile spreading on her face. "Did Yuri pick those?" "Yes," he looked a little suspiciously at her, "why?" "Oh, no. It's just two of the first places Yuri and I went when we started our adventure. We restored a giant cherry blossom tree to protect a village and then we went to a cliff and saw the sea for the first time." Estelle laughed. "Both times Yuri talked about Flynn. I didn't think it was very important back then since I knew they were close friends, but I didn't realize that Yuri isn't the kind of person that casually reveals his thoughts." She swirled the bottle slightly, looking like she was thinking on a memory. "I think he was a little sad he didn't get to share those moments with Flynn." Hubert crossed his arms, thinking over her words. "Flynn's someone Yuri thinks about a lot?" "More than he's willing to admit, I'm sure." Eyes dancing with mirth, Estelle wrote 'Close to the Heart' in decorative script on the bottle. "And this?" She picked up the one for Flynn, opening the bottle and taking a whiff. "It smells kind of familiar." Hubert looked both annoyed and embarrassed. "Flynn said he wanted it to smell like Yuri and at the time his reasoning was quite sweet but then I realized it meant having to steal from Yuri's laundry and it was just such a hassle." He'd gotten caught by Repede of all Nexuses and Hubert had stumbled over his words trying to find an excuse before remembering- dagger and surprising intelligence aside -Repede was just a dog. He still felt compelled to assure him he'd return Yuri's clothes, however. Estelled gave it another whiff. "But you did it. This very much smells like Yuri. What did Flynn say that made you think it was sweet?" "He said that Yuri was with him through difficult times and his mind equated him with comfort." "Aww, that is sweet." She smiled and wrote 'Home' on the bottle. "I think they'll both like it though I don't know how likely they are to actually use it. I'm not entirely sure either of them really understand the point of perfume." "Well," Hubert picked up the bottles, lips quirked into a faint smile, "that's fine. I've been toying with the idea of scent diffusers, I might experiment using these. Everyone treasures things in their own way, after all." ------------------------------------------------- For a moment upon reading the note requesting her assistance at her leisure, Velvet considered ignoring it. In part because she was curious to see how long Flynn would wait for her to show up but mostly because, though Flynn seemed decent enough and Laphicet greatly approved of him, he reminded Velvet of Eleanor early on in their relationship. Though she was fairly sure he wasn't nearly as annoying or frustrating as Eleanor had once been, it wasn't a headache Velvet was particularly eager to relive. Of course, now that she was standing right there in front of him, Velvet really didn't have much of a choice. "What is it?" "I apologize for asking this at the last minute," he gave her a somewhat contrite smile, "but I was hoping you'd be able to help me make a White Day gift for tomorrow." She narrowed her eyes. "Didn't I see you with whole bags of gifts last week?" "Those are return gifts. As much as I would've like to return handmade chocolates in kind, I'm afraid my schedule and the amount didn't make that feasible. But I was hoping to do something a little more personalized for my companions." Velvet had no idea what Flynn's cooking abilities were but the folks from his world- Yuri especially -had been fairly adamant about not allowing Flynn to cook though the use of terms like 'alone' and 'for others' had her more curious than anything. "And you're asking me specifically because?" He looked somewhat embarrassed. "I know my cooking can be... divisive. But you strike me as the kind of person that won't hold back. If you see me doing something incorrectly or suspect, I'm certain you wouldn't hesitate to point it out." Velvet starred at him long and intense but Flynn didn't so much as twitch. "Fine." She pulled her shoulders back, fists planted on her hips and her face was set as hard as the most ruthless military instructor. "You will do what I say and only what I say. You only get one chance at this so the first time you go ignore my orders, I'm done. Understood?" Flynn snapped to perfect attention, "Yes, ma'am!" ~*~*~*~ "I need your help figuring out something for White Day." Ludger nearly jumped at the sudden voice behind him. He turned to find Yuri there, arms crossed and stance as easy as ever. Ludger gave him an odd look. "How am I supposed to help you with something like that? I know for a fact you don't have issues working with chocolates, Elle raved about the bonbons you made last year for weeks." "And if this was for any normal person, it wouldn't be a problem." Yuri tsked. "Unfortunately, Flynn's got a fucked up sense of taste and doesn't care that much for sweets." "...Flynn?" Ludger asked with a slow blink. "You're doing this for Flynn?" Yuri just shrugged as if this was a perfectly normal thing. "Sure. Mileena said on White Day guys are supposed to give gifts to girls and people important to them, right?" "I suppose that's true." He wasn't sure if it actually was. Asides from Kocis and Ix whose relationship was somewhat unique, Ludger didn't think any of the other guys gave their guy friends, childhood or otherwise, a gift. On the other hand, he also didn't want to get into an argument over it. "But why do you think I can help?" "You're more experimental with your recipes than Velvet and they mostly come out pretty good. You might have better ideas how to make a chocolate he'd like." Well, Ludger wasn't exactly immune to praise, especially when it came from someone whose cooking skills he respected. "If nothing else, I can at least try. What are his preferred tastes?" Yuri's expression flattened out, apparently already expecting his words to screw everything up. "Savory. Spicy. Meat." Sure enough, Ludger's thoughts skidded to a halt. He put one hand to a table and the other to his head. "Oh boy." ~*~*~*~ Velvet set down the recipe on the counter in front of Flynn. "Here. The ingredients and technique are simple but the results- when done correctly -make it seem much fancier and complicated than it actually is." She gave him a moment to skim over the paper before slapping her hand on the counter to get his attention. "First lesson: cooking is an art, baking is a science. Experimenting and changing recipes is much easier when you cook because you can constantly taste and adjust the food's flavor. With baking, once it's in the oven, that's basically it. Once it's been cooked, it's near impossible to change the flavor or texture. That means, with the way the ingredients and heat interacts, unless you really know what you're doing," Velvet got right up in his face, eyes deadly serious, "never deviate from the recipe." Flynn swallowed reflexively. "Understood." Velvet watched with a hawkish, critical eye as Flynn pulled the ingredients and dishes out, treating this as seriously as he would a strategy meeting and, while she found that hilarious, it was also understandable. Cooking for someone could leave you feeling surprisingly vulnerable, especially when it was for a special occasion. Even with all her confidence and experience, Velvet still felt that on occasion. She stayed silent and vigilant, speaking up only to instruct Flynn to grease the ramekins more. When he'd done so to her satisfaction and placed them aside, Velvet looked down at the ramekins, going over the count in her head: Estelle, Rita, Judith, one for Velvet to test... "Why are there five?" Flynn paused in measuring out the ingredients, checking to make sure he hadn't miscounted. "One for you, Lady Estellise, Rita, Judith and Yuri." "Yuri?" "Of course. It's a day for men to show appreciation to the people important to them, I can hardly leave out my best friend." ~*~*~*~ After a number of trials and errors- and an emergency shopping trip to restock -the two men were fairly certain they'd gotten a recipe that wouldn't burn while making, wasn't too brittle and wasn't overwhelming. Of course, given the ingredients, neither of them felt qualified to actually judge how good it was. Deciding to stay out of the process for making the chocolate that would actually go to Flynn, Ludger asked, "So why exactly are you making chocolate for Flynn? Especially since you said he's not particularly fond of sweets?" "I told you already," Yuri said, intently focused on his chopping. "I know, I just don't remember you giving something to Karol or Raven last year." "Yeah, well I also didn't spend nearly every moment for over ten years hanging out with them." Well, Ludger had to give him that. Then Yuri added, "Besides, he'd gonna get me something so I need to give him a gift in return." ~*~*~*~ Velvet still seemed unconvinced. "So you're doing this because you think he's going to make you something?" "I know he is," Flynn said with utmost confidence. ~*~*~*~ "What makes you so certain of that?" Ludger asked. Yuri scowled- the one everyone knew was just for show. "Because that's just-" ~*~*~*~ "-the kind of guy he is," Flynn said with a bright smile. ~*~*~*~ Gatherings for gift exchanges on holidays in the dining area was becoming customary, several tables filled with groups chatting and passing things around. Yuri had already given the women of his group their chocolates, each decorated and personalized for each one though they were happy to break off a piece so one of the others could give it a try. Yuri was preening at their compliments. Velvet, part out of curiosity and part to be supportive, helped Flynn bring out the plates before joining her own group. Each small dish had a delicately ridged, slightly tapered cake placed in the middle, liberally dusted with powdered sugar and a bright red strawberry, sliced and fanned out on top. Velvet hadn't even had to give Flynn any direction on it, his eye for detail apparently extended to gorgeous plating. She put her plates down in front of Judith and Estelle, both women's eyes brightening at the sight but there was still something stiff in their posture. "How pretty," Judith said, picking the fork up from the plate but making no move to actually try it. "You followed a recipe for this, right?" Yuri asked, glaring suspiciously down at the plates Flynn set in front of him and Rita. "He did," Velvet answered instead as Flynn took the last remaining seat. "I was with him to whole time." Yuri's glare intensified. "Are you sure?" Velvet glared right back at him. "Do you really think he could sneak something by me? Especially when it comes to food?" "Well, we should at least try it," Estelle said slowly despite her encouragement. She, also, didn't make a move to actually take a bite. Velvet rolled her eyes. "He made an extra and I tried it. I wouldn't let him feed you anything inedible." Yuri grabbed his fork like he was grabbing his sword. "Alright. Here goes." He pierced the edge of the cake, chocolate oozing out from the middle, screwed his face up like he was saying a prayer and shoved it into his mouth. His eyes shot open. "Oh. That's really good." Flynn beamed like he'd just discovered world peace. The girls dove into it a heartbeat later, each heaping praise on Flynn at first taste. Yuri, already on his third bite, paused to slide the package he'd brought towards Flynn. "Here. For you." "Thank you," Flynn carefully worked a finger under the seams, opening the gift without ripping the paper. "You didn't have to, you know." "Yeah, I did. Tried to tailor it to your taste so I don't know if you'll actually like it." It was a seemingly plain bar of chocolate but when Flynn bit at the corner, his eyes went wide. "Yuri, this is amazing!" "Heh. Good to know." Seeing that uncharacteristically soft smile on Yuri's lips, Velvet decided it was best to make her escape. ~*~*~*~ Ludger waited a discreet distance to intercept Velvet. "Surprised to see you playing waiter." "More like reassurance," she said blandly. "That Flynn hadn't accidentally poisoned them." His eyes flickered to the table, then back at Velvet. "Out of curiosity, did Flynn say why he made one for Yuri?" Sensing there was more to it than simple curiosity, Velvet studied Ludger closely. "Because Yuri is his best friend and Flynn was certain he'd make something in return," she said slowly, "why?" "Huh. That's pretty much exactly the reason Yuri said he made something for Flynn." Ludger couldn't quite tell if Velvet was amused, annoyed or apathetic. "So let me get this straight. Yuri made Flynn chocolate as a return gift for the chocolate he made as a return gift for Yuri." "Well," he hooked his thumbs in his pockets, "they weren't wrong about the other getting them chocolate." For a long moment, Velvet stayed quiet. Then, "They're both idiots in the exact same way, aren't they?" "I'm kinda getting that, too." It looked like everyone had or was just about finished with their cakes and there had yet to be any abrupt exits, blanching or chugging down water. All good signs in Ludger's book. "You helped Flynn make chocolate lava cakes?" "Watched, really," Velvet said. "He followed the recipe without any problem, picked up techniques quickly and they came out perfectly fine. Not anything like the kitchen disaster I was expecting. He even did the plating without any help. I don't know what Yuri's talking about." There was a brief pause. "Wait- you said he followed a recipe?" "Of course. I told him he wasn't allowed to deviate even the slightest." Ludger nodded to himself, "I think I get it. Yuri wanted my help making a chocolate bar because he said Flynn has, uh, unique tastes." "You helped Yuri make a chocolate bar?" The question was obvious in her words and, at the face Ludger made, Velvet looked like she almost didn't want to know. "What kind is it?" "It has chopped bacon and ground chili peppers." Her mouth pressed into a thin line, watching Flynn happily take another bite, oblivious to her, Ludger and Yuri's disturbed expressions. "Yeah. Now I get it." ------------------------------------------------- Honestly Mikleo thought the addition of Flynn was one of the best things to happen to the group. He basically took over assigning field and guard duties and helped Cress out with training. It allowed Jade and Leon to focus more on the finance and logistics and intelligence gathering side of things which meant Mikleo really didn't have to deal with an infuriating cryptic or overbearing critic anymore. He was also thankful for the fact Flynn came at it more like a taskmaster than an officer, preferring to ask for volunteers rather than ordering someone for a mission and trying to keep assignments within the person's interests or skill sets whenever possible. A number of Nexuses were or had been part of the military on their respective worlds and while Mikleo's experience with an actual military organization was pretty minimal, it was a relief that Flynn had no interest in restructuring the group into a military framework. Though, he'd admit, the military's tendency to organize and schedule things did come in handy from time to time. There were two kitchens anyone could use at any given time though, by unspoken agreement, the larger one was reserved for those who had cooking duty while the smaller was for those who could cook for themselves so the chef for the day didn't have to cook for everyone. With such a huge group, it was unfeasible to expect one person to feed them all on their own so there were always volunteers to help out in the kitchen. And despite all the work he did, Flynn often checked the kitchen to ensure there was enough people working and was always willing to chip in his own time if staffing was lacking for any reason. Whenever Yuri was on kitchen duty, Flynn, more often than not, was in there with him. It was somewhat surprising, really, given Yuri had be vehement about not allowing Flynn to cook- which didn't stop Velvet from allowing the knight to help her but most things didn't stop Velvet. Then again, Flynn was generally relegated to things like prep, washing and chopping food, getting out tools and dishes, setting things up to serve and cleaning up afterward. Mikleo volunteered to help them when he could, he found the way Yuri and Flynn worked together fascinating. They seemed to have an instinctual awareness for each other, always aware of where the other was and when they were in need of something. It was almost like a dance. Mikleo, conversely, had nearly bumped into or been bumped into on numerous occasion no matter how he tried to keep out of the way. He couldn't help saying, when the food had been set out and the three of them were cleaning up, "You two work surprisingly well in a kitchen." Yuri shrugged, putting some of the food into containers to be taken to those that wouldn't be able to make it to dinner. "We spent a few years working at an inn to pay for board. I cooked, he cleaned." "And did whatever odd jobs the owners needed to have done," Flynn added, taking the dishes Mikleo had washed and drying them off. "Is that how Yuri got to be such a good cook?" "And why Flynn became such a clean freak." Flynn shot his friend a mild glare. "If you knew how some people left their rooms, you'd understand." He turned back to Mikleo with a faint grin, "It was also rather meditative. Not a lot of people interrupt cleaning staff so I always had time to organize my thoughts." "You should've seen it during the rainy season," Yuri grinned, leaning over to look at Mikleo passed Flynn's shoulder. "He'd sit by the door with a mop and bucket, trailing after anyone tracking mud, no matter who it was." "Dried mud is pain to clean up!" Flynn protested. Yuri's eyes suddenly lit up. "Hey, you remember the time you reamed that captain for dumping his filthy cloak on the floor?" Flynn's mouth opened, the beginnings of a justification on his lips when he abruptly froze. His eyes went large and Yuri's grin wicked. Flynn didn't even react when Mikleo nudged his hand with a ladle. ".....that was Captain Schwann." Yuri roared with laughter. "Hell yeah, it was!" He slapped Flynn's back and Flynn closed his eyes with a pained sigh. "I can't believe I'd forgotten about that!" "I can't believe you reminded me of it." "Schwann?" Mikleo prodded at Flynn's hand again until he took the ladle. "Isn't that Raven's old name?" Yuri was still chuckling, smirking broadly. "I'm gonna have to ask if he remembers that." "You don't have to," there was something almost pleading in Flynn's voice. "Oh, I absolutely do. You yelled at him until he went out on the stoop and wrung out his cloak then made him hang it up!" Packing up the last of the containers, Yuri wrapped them up in a large cloth. "I'm gonna take this to Rita and the other eggheads." He gave them a wink. "I'll leave the rest to you!" Then he was off and Flynn glowered after him. Mikleo did his best to stifle his laughter. "He really seems to enjoy pressing your buttons." "Too much, sometimes." He took the last plate from Mikleo who then drained the sink. "But I suppose that's to be expected with childhood friends." "I can understand that. Sorey and I have had our fair share of arguments." "Oh yeah, you two are childhood friends as well, right?" "Yup." With the last of the water gone, Mikleo began to wipe down the sink. "We've been together ever since I can remember." Flynn chuckled, "I can barely remember what life was like before I knew Yuri." He put the dry plate on a stack, taking a portion of it to put into the cupboard while Mikleo put the utensils back in their drawers. "Have you two been together the whole time?" "A little while back we went about three years without hardly speaking to each other. I told myself it was because I was too busy or because of some silly slight from the last time we passed each other by but, I can admit now, it was because I was hoping he'd miss me enough to come back to the Knights." "Was it difficult?" Mikleo asked as they put away the last of the dishes. "Absolutely. Not in the same way losing my parents was or trying to survive on the streets before the inn keeper took us in, but it was a hardship I never had to deal with before: being without my greatest support. But I think it was the best for both of us. Admittedly, Yuri did flounder a bit, but we got out of each other's shadows and grew into our own person." Flynn rinsed off the towel, then wrung it out and began to wipe down the counters. "Introspection is much easier when you don't have someone covering up your weaknesses." His brow furrowed, something inside knotting uncomfortably at Flynn's words. "Do you mean you think being with someone for too long stunts your growth?" "Ah, that did sound like that, didn't it?" Flynn tilted his head to one side as he thought over his words. "Can, I think, would be more accurate. And I'm certainly not suggesting cutting off ties for years is the way to go, but taking a day or two for self-reflection every once in a while is helpful. And, even if something does happen that keeps you separated, you'll realize that you carry a piece of them inside your heart. That the time you spent together and the memory of them has and continues to shape you into the person that you are." Mikleo liked the way it sounded much more. "So?" He asked teasingly, "How did Yuri shape you?" Flynn just laughed. "Oh, patience and forgiveness, mostly." "He certainly strikes me as the kind of person that gets into trouble easily." "True. But mostly I meant forgiving myself." Mikleo paused, then turned to look up at Flynn. "What do you mean?" "Yuri likes to point out my flaws and mistakes. To tease me, mostly, but also to remind me that I'm only human." Flynn grinned self-effacingly. "Sometimes, even though I know better, I expect myself to make every decision perfectly, no matter the circumstances." "So Yuri reminds you to forgive your imperfections?" "Something like that. But also he's been with me through the worst times in my life and no matter how badly I screwed up or the times when I wanted to hate myself, he always forgave me. And even though I have issues with the way Yuri goes about some things, there's no one I trust more, nothing I have more faith in than him." He smiled at Mikleo, something warm and deep that was a lot like being wrapped in the sun. "I figure if someone like him can forgive me when I'm at my worst, then I could learn to forgive myself, too." The sheer faith momentarily took Mikleo's breath away. "That... that's an amazing sentiment. I can't imagine what that's like." Or admit that it made him a little jealous. "Really? Your relationship with Sorey seems quite similar." "Not quite to that level." "You're closer than you think," Flynn said, squeezing Mikleo's shoulder. "You just have to have as much faith in yourself as you have in Sorey." "That can be surprisingly difficult sometimes," he said ruefully. "I know. But that's why you need people like Yuri or Sorey in your life. Someone that will always remind you that, no matter how much you want to give up on yourself, you're still worthwhile." They lapsed into silence, Mikleo lost in thought. That brief pang of jealousy of the bond between Flynn and Yuri- unbreakable, irreplaceable -had faded at Flynn's words. What he and Sorey had was just as deep and strong, just different. And, more importantly, it was theirs. That revelation had Mikleo smiling to himself throughout the rest of clean up. ------------------------------------------------- "Excuse me." Yuri looked down at the hesitant voice addressing him from somewhere around lower-torso level. He recognized her immediately as Chester's little sister. "What's up?" "Um," she said, pressing her lips together and tugging at her skirt. "Can you braid my hair?" Yuri leaned down, hands braced on his thighs so he was eye level with Ami. "That's a weird thing to ask a random person." "Chester said he was gonna do it this morning but him and Cress got called off to do something else and I don't know when they're gonna come back." "There's plenty of women that can braid hair." At least Yuri was mostly sure of this. Ami's mouth twisted, looking much like Ted or Karol did when they were about to admit something they thought was childish and dumb. "When Chester or Cress braid my hair, they always hum or sing me songs and it's... not as comforting when it's a lady." Considering the issues that came up with her exoflection, Yuri didn't have the heart to deny her such a simple comfort. He stood upright. "Well, if that's the case I can't really help you. I've never braided my hair. But," he said as Ami's face fell, "I know someone perfect for the job." When the situation was explained to Flynn, he just nodded and began to remove his gauntlets. "In that case, we'll share the job. I'll braid your hair and Yuri can sing." "Why are you volunteering me for this?" Flynn merely lifted an eyebrow. "Seems fair considering you volunteered me." He noticed Ami's look of concerned and smiled warmly at her. "Don't worry, Yuri has a good singing voice though he hasn't done it much since we were kids. Please, have a seat and make yourself comfortable." He hadn't sung much because Flynn used to always watch him with an expression that made Yuri self-conscious. Not that he'd ever admit to it, of course. "I'll hum instead," Yuri announced before all but throwing himself down on the nearby couch, arms crossed behind his head and eyes closed. He heard Flynn ask Ami if she was ready and the little girl's quietly excited reply, then Yuri began to hum. It was one of Ranko's songs, one she said she sang as a duet. Flynn seemed to like it. A few bars into it, Yuri cracked an eye open and watched his friend comb his fingers through Ami's thick hair. From the small smile on Flynn's face, even with the slowed tempo Yuri hummed, he obviously recognized the tune. "How do you know how to braid hair?" Ami asked after a while. "I used to braid Yuri's when we were kids. Sometimes I put flowers and clovers in there." "Really? That sound so cool!" "I also used to help him put his hair in buns and twists, too." "Chester never does fun stuff with his hair and he won't let anyone but me play with it. How come Yuri lets you play with his?" Flynn didn't say anything but Yuri could practically feel the glance his way so Yuri said, "When I decided to grow my hair out, some older kids gave me a tough time about. They'd tease me, pull it, try to tangle it up." Ami made an angry sound. "Some boys did that to me, too, but Chester and Cress never let them get away with it." "Boys are the worst," Yuri said decisively. "They are! They stopped when one tried to put mud in my hair and I punched him in the nose. All the moms wanted Chester to punish me but he couldn't stop laughing." Yuri snickered and he heard Flynn chuckle as well. "Flynn would stick up for me, too. Once, though, one of 'em manage to cut a good three inches out of my hair. That was when Flynn started helping me put it up until I got big enough to fight 'em off myself." "I'm sorry. You have such pretty hair." "Thanks," Yuri craned his neck around to smile at Ami. Flynn was carefully sectioning out her hair on one side. "I talked Flynn into growing his out once but it kept turning into a tangled mess no matter what we tried. Even when it's short like that, he can't do anything with it." "I'm perfectly happy with my hair how it is," Flynn said dryly. "I know you are 'cause no one can tell you haven't brushed it." Ami giggled and Flynn tried to hide the twitching of his lips. "Aren't you supposed to be humming?" "Right, right." When Flynn had finished and handed Ami a mirror to look into, she gasped. "It's so pretty and fancy! Did you braid Yuri's hair like this, too?" A thick braid ran down each side of her head and where they met at the nape of her neck, he'd blended them into one. "No," Flynn said a little wistfully, "Yuri wouldn't let me get too creative with his hair." "But when the girls and young women in our side of town found out how well he braided hair, they came to him all the time to do theirs. Before festivals, there'd be an entire line of women waiting for him." Yuri snickered. "All the guys were so jealous." Flynn just rolled his eyes. "Not like they couldn't learn themselves." Yuri just snickered harder because that had never been the point. "Ami!" Elle half called, half sang as she came in, "finally got back from shopping, did you wanna- oh wow! Your hair is so pretty!" "Thanks!" Ami kicked her legs happily, beaming at her friend. "Flynn did it for me!" "You can do braids?" Elle asked with wide eyes. "My daddy would do it for me sometimes. Ludger tries but they always come out." "If I may," Flynn said, holding out a hand near Elle's hair and running his fingers through it when she nodded. "Hmm. Fine hair tends to have trouble staying up. Yuri's hair is thicker than yours but also pretty fine so I think can make yours work." "He said he can even put flowers in it!" Ami said. "Really?" Flynn laughed. "Why don't you two gather whatever flowers you want me to put in your hair? I can redo Ami's hair after I do Elle's." "Yay!" The girls bolted for the door. "Thanks, Flynn!" After a moment, Yuri sat up on the couch. "You're such a sap." "I may be." Flynn patted the seat Ami had vacated. "Want me to braid your hair while we wait?" "...sure, why not." ------------------------------------------------- He'd been floating on the edge of consciousness for some time before a knocking pulled him out completely. "Yuri? Have you seen Flynn? No one's seen him today." Groggy from lack of sleep, Flynn half-turned to his back. In part to pull out the strands of Yuri's hair that had gotten into his mouth before pushing himself from the bed. It really wasn't big enough for two men to sleep comfortably but neither had the bed at the Comet they shared right up until they joined the Knights. Flynn supposed it was a good thing they'd gotten used to sleeping piled on top of each other long before they reached the age when most boys found that degree of closeness to be awkward. He padded, bare foot, across the floor, putting on a shirt- Yuri's -as he went and scrubbing a hand through his unruly hair. When Flynn opened the door he found Ix there, staring at him with wide eyes. "Oh! Uh... sorry, did I wake you?" "It's fine." He'd worked on less sleep many times before. "Is there something wrong with your room? I know it can't be comfortable having to share a room with three other people. Sorry, Mileena didn't think there'd be so many of you when she made this place." Even with those that decided to stay on the Heimdallr with the Salvation Front, a lot of rooms had to double-up to fit all the exoflected. It was a good thing Yuri had picked one of the smaller rooms from the start, he didn't have to share with anyone but Repede. And now occasionally Flynn. "It's fine," he said again. Before Mileena had gotten around to exoflecting another bunkbed in one of the larger rooms, Flynn shared Yuri's bed. Just like old times. "And I enjoy my roommates." Sharing a space with Asbel, Hubert and Kor was a lot like living in the barracks before Flynn became an officer. It was kind of nice. A few had offered to give him a room of his own in deference to his rank but he'd been adamant about not turning this into a military operation or getting special treatment. "Then I'm interrupting something private." "Ix." When he looked up, Flynn just gave him a warm smile. "It's alright. There's nothing you need to worry about." Ix hummed, gaze dropping again and it took Flynna a moment to realize Ix's eyes were caught somewhere around sternum-level. Flynn looked down at the star-burst shaped scar on his chest- more of a burn, really -perfectly framed by the edges of Yuri's shirt. "Ah. That. I'm sure you understand," he told Ix with a faint smile, "it's better to risk your life than someone you love." His expression went pensive, something Flynn was quickly learning was fairly common on the young man. "It must have been painful." Flynn thought back about how hard it was to breathe, not just from taking Alexei's attack to his chest but from hearing that Yuri had gone missing, that he must have fallen off Zaude. How, day after day, ships and soldiers combing the ocean and shore would report back to him having found nothing. Then, one day, with his hope just a tenuous string, he'd gotten a letter from Estelle saying Yuri showed up in Zaphias, injured but well, and they were off to Zopheir to test a hypothesis of Rita's and for the first time in a week Flynn could breathe clearly. "Yes," he said softly, "but it was worth it." Ix gave a little huff of laughter. "I'm kind of envious how open you are about these things." "Well," Flynn looked over to where Yuri still lay on the bed, having scooted over to take up some of the space Flynn had vacated. "It took a lot of time and hardship to get to this point." He looked back at Ix and smiled. "But that was also worth it." When Ix's pensive look remained, Flynn asked, "Is something on your mind?" "I..." he bit his lip, visibly gathering his thoughts. "I agree that taking on danger in order to protect those I care about is worth the risk but... are you ever frightened about the thought that the person you care about thinks the same? That they'll take on the danger to protect you?" "Of course," Flynn said without hesitation. "If they weren't important to me, it wouldn't be frightening. It can be difficult, even painful, when they take that burden for me, but I'd imagine it hurts them just as much to see me take theirs. And because they're important to me, I have to respect their wishes. There is, however, a vast difference between respecting someone's wishes and allowing them to act thoughtlessly and recklessly." He sighed, memories bubbling up in the back of his thoughts as he spoke. "There may certainly be disagreements as to which side of that line someone's decision falls on." He gave Ix a gentle look. "However, while one's willingness to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others can be noble, I think it's better to protect each other and face the danger together." Ix's his smile was subdued but bright, something in his eyes settling more comfortably. "I'm glad you're here. Having so many unique and eccentric personalities can be fun but also really draining to deal with. It's nice to have more people mature enough to give open and sensible advice around." Flynn laughed quietly. "Well, I know not everyone appreciates that. But I'll endeavor to help out whenever you or any of the others need me." "Sure, just remember to take care of yourself, too. And let me know if you ever need anything. We're in this together, after all." Ix waved before retreating down the hall. Closing the door, Flynn shrugged out of the shirt before brushing Yuri's hair out of the way and sliding back into bed. "Wuzzit?" Yuri murmured, still mostly asleep. "Ix." "Wha'd he want?" "I think the shock of seeing me partially dressed in your room first thing in the morning made him forget to ask. Sorry. Pretty sure he thinks we're sleeping together." Yuri let out a soft, amused snort. "Not inaccurate." He turned his head, not enough to actually see Flynn but enough so Flynn knew he was irritated. "Yer lettin' the cold air in." "Move your legs, I'm about to fall off the bed." Yuri let out a put-upon sigh, shifting his legs enough so Flynn could tangle his own with them. They lay there, pressed skin to skin, one of Flynn's arms resting comfortably over Yuri's waist, breathing matched long and slow. After a while, however, Yuri said, "Can feel you thinkin'." "Sorry." "Don' be sorry. Sleep." "I don't think I can." "Still tired, aren't ya?" "Yeah," Flynn admitted. He started to move again. "But if people are looking for me, I should get up. There's plenty I could be-" "Nope," Yuri didn't move his face from the pillow but he grabbed at Flynn's wrist. "Yer nightmare's bad 'nough you came to me in th' middle o' the night, you need ta sleep in." Then, before Flynn could protest or argue, "Repede!" Almost instantly the bed dipped and Flynn looked down just as Repede settled his head heavily on Flynn's thigh. The man sighed, letting his head drop back down next to Yuri's. "Try'n move now." Yuri shifted just enough to send a smug, sideways look to Flynn. "Don't wanna disturb our sweet li'l puppy, do ya?" Glancing down at Repede, the dog merely stared back at Flynn, amusement clear in his one eye. Flynn sighed again, body relaxing. "You're both terrible." Yuri chuckled, drawing Flynn's arm further around him. "Love you, too." Flynn just pressed his face against Yuri's back, hiding a smile in his hair.

[jolteonjordansh]

Soooo, Zestiria first impressions after playing it until 4 AM!

I’ll get cons out of the way. Some bits of the gameplay feel kind of... sloppy. The most glaring thing is the camera. It tends to freak out and get too close, especially in small areas. With how this game works, I get why it happens, but they really should have polished it better before release. It’s honestly shocking they thought it was okay to release the game like that. It’s nice that they were going for something more integrated between the overworld and battles, but for now, I think I prefer how past Tales games have been done unless this system is improved on in another game, like Tales of Berseria.

The fighting also feels... really slow compared to other Tales games. It’s most similar to Graces f of the ones I’ve played, which isn’t my most favorite. Yet despite that, Graces f was very fast-paced. It doesn’t quite feel as satisfying with Zestiria. You just kind of slowly chain artes together (and you have very few to work with at the beginning). FYI, I’ve played as Mikleo, Lailah and Alicia so far. Boyfriend has been playing as Sorey.

Because of what I just mentioned in the last bullet point, I have not tried out armatization yet. It does seem fun, but somehow seems more OP than Ludger’s Chromatus. I’ll have to get a feel for it once we have another party member who can utilize it.

There’s some interesting choices with the presentation, yet overall to me it feels kind of... stiff and stilted? Lip movements, body movements, even facial expressions all feel kind of unnatural. I know Xillia or Xillia 2 didn’t feel quite this stiff either, so I’m not sure what happened here. We are playing the PS4 version of a PS3 game, but still... it just feels kind of off in general.

A few too many cutscenes, I feel. For a game that has a lot of dialogue going as you simply walk in town, which I kind of like, there’s one too many times we have to stop for very brief cutscenes that could have been solved in a much snappier fashion. I know this sounds like a weird complaint for a JRPG, but some past Tales games just flowed better to me. This one has a bit of an... awkward start.

The voice direction is a bit hit or miss. It feels a bit more awkward compared to past Tales dubs. Mikleo and Lailah in particular felt a bit unnatural. Though for Mikleo I think it’s more that he’s meant to have a sort of monotone to him and that’s a bit out of the norm for some Tales characters, especially one so early in the cast. Lailah’s kind of meant to be a weirdo I guess. It just feels like it could use some work. I do really like Alisha’s performance though, and Sorey is adorable.

Music ranges from pretty okay to... kind of obnoxiously loud? I dunno, it just isn’t really clicking with me right now. I know Zestiria has some good music though, so maybe I’ll just wait a bit. Still sad that despite having a weird relationship with White Light, we only got an instrumental version for some reason. Hence, we played the original version along with the instrumental after the prologue and it sounded really badass.

Alright, time for good stuff! The animation for the animated cutscenes continue to be freaking awesome as we left off from Xillia and Xillia 2. God freaking bless you ufotable. I hope there’s a nice balance of them in this game.

I am enjoying some of the chemistry between the cast. Sorey’s easily my favorite since he’s the biggest pure dork who’s ever dorked no surprise there. I’m actually super loving the chemistry between him and Mikleo right now. Them playfighting a bunch after forgiving each other later in the game was super cute. Please don’t make me fall into the SorMik ship train I swear to fucking God because I know it’s a painful road.

I can totally see how Sorey could come off as a bit of a Gary Stu to some people. Not sure if many people have actually made said criticism, but I could totally see people having it. But I feel (so far) he just barely avoids that by being human enough and capable of making plenty of mistakes. I can also see how he’d come off as the generic shounen protagonist to some, but to me he has enough fun and energy to him that I personally find him irresistibly likable. 

I like some of the story so far, probably because I’m a huge dork for Arthurian legend. I also just really like seeing the relationships between humans and seraphim--how they both work and don’t work out. There’s just some neat plot elements in here that I’m a huge sucker for. Also, DRAGONS. Was kind of surprised to hear they tie into seraphim. But now I’m just waiting to see some actual freaking dragons.

The way equipment works in this game is kind of interesting, but also a bit annoying to manage. There’s a lot of times we’re just spending time on managing equipment because any piece of equipment you find or buy can potentially be better or worse than another. It’s neat, though I think I am more of a basic level-up system person. 

I do like some of the scenery throughout the game and just some of the design overall. It is nice to see the Tales series attempt to return to form with fantasy after going a bit more high-tech with games like Xillia. Plus again, I’m a sucker for Arthurian legend and fantasy in general, so those are big plusses for me in general.

I think that about covers it! I have some grievances, but looking forward to seeing how things develop as we go on. I worry I’m gonna have a conflicted relationship with this game like Xillia, but there’s only one way to find out. 

[thewolfisawake]

12, 14 (air your grievances), 17, and 24 with Vesperia

12.  Which is your favourite ending from any game? 

Shit man, I think all the endings were okay considering I was stuck on what happened like right before the end. I don’t think one really meant more to me than the other. If I had to choose, I’d go with Tales of the Abyss because I feel like I lost my damn mind with the questions that came from it and the tears that came from me reaching the end. 

14.  If you could only change one thing from a game, which one would it be and how would you change it?

I know it says a game but you know what, you set up for this. Air my grievances, boy. I’ll go with Zestiria and Xillia 2 and yeah, even Vesperia, let’s go.

In Zestiria, I’m so annoyed with the whole thing with Sorey. Like they built it up to him having to make the hard choices. I was waiting for this the entire game. And there was so many chances that it could’ve been Sorey that had to put up for his duty as Shepherd. This isn’t even me speaking as an angst lover, it would’ve been such a great time to test Sorey’s conviction. I think it would’ve spoke volumes if he had to raise his hand because of the threat that the opponent posed and then have the courage to be able to remain kind despite what he’s done. It would have been a slap in the face to Heldalf to me. And it was also doing Rose dirty to me for her to have to be the one that did the deed. What a power move it would’ve been for if Sorey like bade to put the swords away and he did it? Like man. 

In Xillia 2, there’s so much backstory that needed to be done. I’m so serious. How the fuck do you not include a lot of the backstory in here? Especially when we are playing a silent and apparently small part amnesiac protagonist? How could we not see more into Victor because he is apart of one of the biggest twists of the game?! Even if you didn’t have Ludger himself relive his memories, you could have used Victor’s dimension to help bridge that as well as get further to Victor as a person, the extent of Elle’s love for him, and just how close this could’ve been to our protagonist going down this road. Yeah, we had the bad ending but while not completely out of nowhere, there still could’ve been more that showed how much Ludger toed this line. And I’m so upset it wasn’t used.

Finally, my baby, oh my god. What happened to the theme? What happened? I know how all the games culminate to like fighting god with your besties. But you know what I would’ve been fine with? Putting it aside for this one game. It was bragged how this was different and with a more mature protagonist. I would have killed for a bigger exploration into justice and how far that you’re willing to go for those convictions. Like Flynn and Yuri had so much opportunity for it. Like exploring the power vacuum and Flynn’s involvement with it. He wanted peace and I know he is smart enough and cunning enough to do what had to have the empire in a better place and even drag the union into it because of their disarray. It could have tested Yuri’s conviction to his justice. He said he’d deal with Flynn if he went down a path he believed was wrong. But??? Make him put his gald where his mouth is??? It could’ve been like the Handlebars music video with the countries at stake. Sure, it’s not like alien threats or apocalypse on the horizon like the norm but it could’ve been the one time they could’ve broken that to go with this push for having a different protag and view. 

17. Who is your favourite side character?

Edna. Oh my god. I love her. What a troll and so aware of herself. I just found her so hilarious and like? Stylistically contradictory? Like you think of earth and don’t think of such a bright looking character. Also I’m apparently a sucker for the one that plays straight man in the situation. I can’t even think of everything that I love about her but just...Edna. Just watch her for like a little and understand how she’s so great.

24. Favourite party set up from Vesperia?

Yuri, Estelle, Judy, and Rita. Like I almost refuse to have it any other way. I would play Yuri because his fighting style is ridiculous and fun to watch in addition to I’m a melee no matter what. Estelle because I need a healer. I’m a reckless babe and I suffered immensely without a healer. Rita because I need a magic person and god it didn’t even matter what spell she cast, it worked. All I can remember is “blah blah blah” then magic. And Judy because I need another melee to draw attention if my ass needed to heal. That and her attacks are like beautiful. 

[yggdrasil-mith0s]

After coming across your post discussing Asbel's depression, I've been compiling a list of Tales Characters who I believe to be suffering from mental illnesses or other issues. I was wondering if you saw any other characters from the series that might suffer from mental health issues or other issues.

Okay... So eventually I'll get around to making a master post of this with my reasonings behind it.I'm going to start with Graces, though, because a lot of the cast is just kinda messed up mentally. Asbel sufferes from Depression. I already made a long post about that.Cheria suffers from mental abuse. If you pay attention to her actions and how she seems at all times, she shows signs of mental abuse. Although they were looking out for Cheria the whole "she's sick. Are you sure you should be doing this, Cheria?" By Asbel even after she is cured shows she still got it all the time. That's why she gpt defensive and said "I'm fine Asbel" in a very annoyed tone.Hubert deals with abandonment issues and it's obvious when he comes back to Llant amd acts like he barely knows Asbel and shows a complete lack of attachment to Llant in general.On to different games.Ludger. Anxiety and depression all day. I made a post regarding this already and how I really look up to Ludger for pushing through his Anxiety.Milla suffers from no compassion. Later on she seems to have developed a compassion/empathy for humans but really it's an understanding and not a real sympathetic emotion that humans feel. I think to some extend she feels those feelings but it's based more off an understanding than raw emotion.Jude suffers from self-doubt which seems to be imposed by his father who told him.everything he needs to be and is a well known doctor. How could Jude ever live up to one of the greatest's doctor's expectations of him?Alvin suffers from a feeling of no self worth. He believes he failed his mom. He always looks tired to as if all his failures keep him.up at night when they were uncontrollable circumstamces. I believe he also suffers from insomnia, especially during Xillia 1. In Xillia 2 when he is running a business it looks as though he is finally figuring out he is worth something.Velvet suffers from bipolar disorder. I'm not sure if this is what you would really call it for her but the death of her younger brother and having no parents has messed with her mentally. It becomes obvious on how revenge-driven she becomes.There is more I could analyze but this is enough for now.Keep in mind having a mental disability does not stop you from doing great things! You can still succeed with a mental disability and I think these characters arr a testimony to that!