#kasque

[komorykatt]

         KASQUE/MILLA ⋆ RATED G ⋆ 1265  WORDS     •  PINING  •  DREAMSHARING  •  LIGHT ANGST 

She could have been a ghost with the way the golden light curled around her figure and draped over her shoulders, crowning her back with a halo of sunset. But Milla knew better than that— it was no ghost before her, but a Goddess in the flesh.

[crush3dmary]

Cephalophore: to be martyred by means of beheading.

Preview of my piece for @livingwithsinzine which I had the great honour of being the head writing mod. Surprise, I didn't write about Aegis either, I wrote about Kasque! The zine is out on July 16th and free to download, please check it out and share the love for Tales of Crestoria. ❤️

[goldentigerfestival]

no listen i am SO serious about this.

context plus additional information:

perhaps less important, but notable due to the similarities: both were in the hands of KLab.

Crestoria based:

the worst event we were ever given, a very stupid Katz event, dropped major lore that would return in the main story and was part of a plotline that was a huge deal.

this event is directly connected to the main story (something events don't usually do) via the Great Trees. we're informed "within the area protected by the Four Great Trees" is the "inner world". Flynn says to Tear that contact with "this side" is forbidden, indicating they're from the "outer world". Flynn was born in the "inner world", but he is now evidently living in the "outer world".

we learn in chapter ten that apparently the area outside the Trees' protection was uninhabitable and in ruin because of the Dreadfang. the event is there to tell us this isn't the case and that are still people living out there. that would be the "outer world".

Kasque is the one destroying the Trees... but Milla thinks she might be being manipulated. rewind to the event. Tear and Flynn mention a man who wants to threaten/bring ruin to the land. is said man the one manipulating her? is he at least in contact with her somehow? Tear makes whatever is at risk of happening sound absolutely horrific - the exact same thing Milla is saying about Kasque destroying the Trees. in fact, why would the event even bring the Trees up to begin with if Tear wasn't implying the dangerous situation was related to them? why all this talk about the "inner world" and the Trees if it's not relevant to her warning?

Flynn mentions a "friend" in this event. Crestoria is an AU, but it typically has certain characters retain their important home game relationships (Stahn and Leon, and Rutee and Mary, etc) or meet each other during the course of the game (Asbel and Sophie, and Senel and Norma, etc). safe to assume he's referring to Yuri.

said Yuri shows up in... the very next event. most likely, if he's the friend Flynn was talking about, he's also from the "outer world". why he's here then, we'll never know, but he is. he also seems to be somewhat quiet during the event, as if observing the people on this side...?

right now, Yuri is just Yuri. he's not a transgressor at this point... but there's plenty of time between his event and chapter ten.

so, who is the guy Tear is warning about? probably Van. why Van? because it lines up with his home game story, which is also his Asteria story... and this arc seems to have an eerie amount of similarities with Asteria arc 4. more on that later. Tear's story would naturally be most likely to be connected to Van, and the potential ruin follows his home game story. Van also had an in game model that was almost a finished model found in the beta files, meaning he was a planned in-battle character, which means he would've had to have had story leading up to a battle with him. The story up to where we'd gotten to hadn't used Van yet at all, and most of the beta files had been used by chapter ten. so... Van was on the way, and given Tear's event plotline and chapter ten's plotline being the exact same plotline, if we assume Tear was referring to Van... Van was probably planned for main story for that same plotline.

Kasque thinks Vision Orbs have ruined humans and wants to fix things somehow. she makes the claim she'll make the world into a beautiful place. Assid and Forte in chapter ten explain a situation quite similar to Van's reaction to the Score in his home game. in fact, the entire plotline of the Trees being destroyed, causing ruin, the Vision Orbs (like the Score) basically controlling people's lives. Assid and Forte play a similar role as the God Generals to Van, assisting him in this "better world" he wants to create in Abyss. worth noting, Crestoria reeeeally likes making nods to home games, so this is probably intentional... especially if Van is involved (or was supposed to be, if the story had continued).

now for the Asteria part!

Tear is running from the knights (her exact story in Crestoria, except it's only one knight, i.e. Flynn). she's in trouble for essentially breaking the law, but she can't allow herself to side with Van (what am I going to guess was also her story in Crestoria, because it at least half is right there already with the law breaking part).

in arc 4, Van is the Prime Minister. he's also aware that they're all living in a "fake dream world" of sorts, where basically everyone's memories were tampered with. they believe this is the real world, with only a handful of people having gotten their memories back and trying to save everyone else. Van was directly responsible for this world happening. he's manipulating the situation to be like this (Crestoria has Milla wonder if Kasque is being manipulated, who seems to closely shares Van's views in both Abyss and Asteria - that the world needs fixing and this just ain't it).

the main knights in arc 4 are Claw, Roar and Fang - brainwashed Yuri, Milla and Lloyd, who all genuinely believe in their roles and current life and have fully embraced their identities as the White Lions' generals (the... exact people who just so happen to have all showed up in Crestoria chapter ten. Lloyd's side story also relates to these same trees, so him being at one when the Pasca tree was destroyed makes sense. and... they put Lloyd right where Yuri was? sus).

less important but worth noting is that Velvet is heavily connected to Milla in Crestoria, and the relationship is not a good one. similarly, they're enemies as Velvet and Roar in Asteria arc 4. also in arc 4, we have Colette as Lloyd's main connection as Fang... who is with his group in Crestoria and is present in chapter ten. the only one missing is Raven, who could have perhaps been replaced by Flynn for this plot (which is likely, if we assume Flynn's mentioned friend is Yuri).

so, if we assume all this, we can go back to Crestoria's trees and their names. they're all named after Radiant Mythology's Kanonno trio. only one doesn't have a name, or at least not that Milla knows of. in both Asteria and Rays, the fourth RM representative is... Lazaris. so, in my conclusion, the fourth tree was going to be named Lazaris.

so we have all the major Asteria arc 4 characters with relevance: Milla, Tear, Yuri and Lloyd. if we go by the theme naming of the trees and assume Lazaris is the fourth, who are we missing from the Asteria arc 4 group? only Van, the Prime Minister in his dream world. the whole set is complete in Crestoria if you consider that he's proooobably the man Tear is talking about...

do we know what Yuri's exact role was in Crestoria chapter ten? nup. nuh. neh. we never will unless Bamco decides to take pity on us (or at least me). we just know that some time between his event and chapter ten, he became a transgressor, which meant he was believed to have committed a crime and was judged by the masses for it as being guilty (which would fit in with Yuri's home game storyline).

I have theories on Yuri's specific role, but that's for another time.

for image reading purposes and for addiiiitional information!!!

here, Tear says she "imagines not", that Flynn would have known he was in the "inner world" while living there. this is reflected in Yuna's question and Aegis' answer to her later.

this could be a callback to Tear saying she imagines not, that Flynn would've known he was in the "inner world" while he was. he knows now, because he's living in the "outer world". also, contact with people in the "inner world" is forbidden, so that's even more reason they wouldn't know that's what people call their area of land, or that there are even people outside of it.

sounds like, uh, Van stuff... right down to the sinkholes...

I've seen some people suggest maybe the transgressor at the end of chapter ten wasn't Yuri, but frankly, let's be honest, that's Yuri's eyes and hair. also, the style of his clothing is very Japanese, and Yuri has a fair amount of Japanese style clothing across media that uses him. his original design for his home game was also given the sash he wears to give him a bit of Japanese to his appearance (this is something mentioned in Yuri's actual character design notes).

appearance aside, it fits his home game storyline to be a transgressor in this universe very perfectly. again, Crestoria likes to stick really close to legacy characters' home game storylines, and often relationships (usually one of, if not the primarily focused on in a specific game, relationship of a specific character). it simply fits them in with Crestoria's specific universe and alters them as necessary, but keeps them as close as possible (as an example, Luke's storyline is nearly identical to his Abyss storyline. Asbel meets Sophie for the first time in Crestoria, but that could easily be seen as reminiscent of Graces itself - especially since Cheria is his childhood friend in Crestoria, which is also true in Graces).

also worth mentioning is that Repede had MA sound files added into the game's files around the time of the upgraded Blood Sin releases of Kanata, Misella and Vicious (Repede was an SR character, and SRs didn't have an MA, only SSRs did). this to me would imply Repede was planned to have an SSR release, or else there wouldn't be much use for MA sound files.

the Blood Sin upgrades were in chapter eight, and the following chapter was Orwin's chapter. chapter ten got back into the main plot unrelated to a new character joining the main group. so, Repede's files were added in before Orwin's chapter, and there would be no need for him to appear as a character in the main story here, or to have an SSR release. chapter ten ended with the Lloyd and Yuri scene. so, a Yuri looking character shows up, and Repede specifically got MA sound files ahead of the appearance of the Yuri looking person.

maybe Repede was with him? but either way... unless Bamco is gonna come out and say otherwise, I'm going with the assumption that that is Yuri.

what would've happened after? that's a whole other concept, just like Yuri's story (and I believe the side stories covered the characters shown in the opening movie, which could mean they were gonna start venturing into side stories of other characters. I'd say it's not unlikely we might have had a Yuri or Flynn side story on the way. I'd say Tear as a possibility too, though since we had Luke for Abyss, I'm not sure if they'd wanna branch out more and go for another game's characters. most likely though, Flynn or Tear getting one would've had the other in it anyway. Yuri might've gotten one to cover his transgressor story, and Flynn and Tear might've shown up in the main story instead), but this is just for the connections of where the story was going.

anyway, this is my chapter ten story theory that has been brewing endlessly in my brain since the game ended and is tormenting me constantly. until Bamco gives me actual answers, this is what I'm going with, cemented in my brain. since Bamco is not likely to give me actual answers, this is my canon now so I can have some form of closure LOL.

as far as Van's relevance in regard to the Asch-got-kidnapped-and-was-never-found-in-Crestoria storyline, we have nothing on that to indicate Van was involved for Crestoria's version, but it's another plot thread to consider... lol... especially given that if it was were the case, Asch would probably get grouped into this storyline too... but yeah... lots of plot threads to consider...

[kresnikcest]

Xillias' Top Ships by Ao3 Tag Usage

Inspired by phantomstatistician's Lloyd chart.

Only counts the number of works that used a wrangled canonical romantic relationship tag linked to the "Tales of Xillia (Video Games)" fandom, hence this is not technically a total of all ship fics in the fandom.

Numbers were fetched between March 8th and 9th 2023.

I did not put that much effort into this and may have screwed up somewhere, so don't take this too seriously.

Total number of romantic relationship tag uses: 929

Click here for the interactive chart.

Breakdown by party member:

Points I found neat:

Most tagged poly ship: Alvin/Jude/Milla (14 fics)

Most tagged Tales crossover ship: Kasque (Crestoria)/Milla (5 fics)

Most tagged non-Tales crossover ship: Yosuke Hanamura (Persona 4)/Jude (3 fics)

Most tagged ship where neither are a playable character: Gaius/Wingul (70 fics)*

* = technically, only in xillia 1. otherwise it would be julius/rideaux at 20 fics.

[fontasticcrablettes]

Tales of Sexylady Poll Results

The poll finished with 204 responses! Thank you everyone for participating. As last time, I reserved 5 spots for write-in votes. I'll post the final bracket in a bit, but for now, here is a summary of the results.

First, a shout-out to the lovely ladies who didn't quite make the cut. Everyone on the list got voted for at least once, so they are all appreciated by someone, but they just didn't have the numbers. Many of these characters suffered from the simple fact that their games are not readily accessible to the Western fanbase, so let's hope for translations and ports in the future so everyone can appreciate them!

In order, the honourable mentions (and number of votes) are:

Mary (30)

Mint (24)

Hilda (20)

Sodia (20)

Ines (19)

Rondoline (18)

Schwartz (17)

Ange (16)

Shizel (16)

Harold (13)

Atwight (11)

Ilene (11)

Nanaly (11)

Philia (10)

Mathias (8)

Elrane (7)

Symonne (6)

Almeidrea (6)

Peridot (4)

Lilith (4)

Agarte (3)

Incarose (3)

Beryl (3)

Fortuna (3)

Zilva (2)

Thitose (1)

Let's have a moment of silence for Thitose, the character who remained at 0 votes for the longest time, and only secured a single vote in the end.

The Winning Write-Ins

41 characters were submitted for consideration. The top 5 earned a slot in the final bracket. They are:

Mary Kaufman

Pronyma

Driselle Sharil

Nephry

And the 5th slot will go to Replica Nebilim, winner of the Nebilim-off hosted earlier today. Both Nebilims had an equal number of votes... probably. As discussed earlier, I counted "Nebilim (unspecified)" as the Replica version.

The next two most popular write-ins were Laplace from Luminaria, and Undine. I'm not sure which Undine, that is. Some voters specified the Symphonia version while others didn't specify. I think we will have to have a spirit tourney in the future to clear everything up.

In a similar situation are the spirits Luna and Celsius. Tied with them are Fourier from graces, Seres from Berseria, and Noir from Abyss.

Finally, the following characters all got 2 votes each: Aqua, the Baticul Lesbian, Jozette Cecille, Karla Outway, Kasque, Lisette, Mesissa, and Mileena. I hope Baticul Lesbian is happy being in a group with Cecille.

There isn't time to list every write-in who got only 1 vote, but here are some of my favourites:

Anna Irving. I respect a woman who is sexy purely on vibes.

"Captain Aqua from Tales of Hearts r is the sexiest Tales lady to me hands down I don't even know if she's 18+ because she doesn't even have a page on Aselia and she kinda looks like a Bratz doll but she's a badass pirate captain and her color scheme of purple and yellow looks so good istg." I respect you and I believe you, anon. I can't even find a picture of her when I google, so I'll have to take your word on it, but I'm sorry no one else shared your passion.

Morgrim. My good friend. This is a cat.

"Marble (ToS) (listen I know she's old but sexiness is in the heart)." You know what anon? Marble is a grandmother, which means she is a mother to someone who is also a mother, so that's like, MILF x 2. It's simple math.

Thanks for participating!

[bravewolfvesperia]

/ so fellas, I did some major mental gymnastic brainthinkies for my Crestoria verse Once The Fuck Again because I am 90 percent certain I have conclusively determined Yuri's place in the plot.

obviously we do not have and will probably never have the full story at this point, but I want to make a post later as to where my brain thinkythought because everything adds up and matches up.

that said, since I've already started writing this verse, I'm going to incorporate it as best as I can into what I already have and still go with these changes.

tl;dr Yuri was onto Van, Van set him up, got him condemned (figuring that's the end of someone, but it didn't work), and Yuri was on his trail when Van went to destroy one of the Four Great Trees. I'll make a post later about how I ended up at this conclusion but uh, let's just say all the info actually matches up thanks to Flynn and Tear.

I'm keeping my current story for Yuri - just adding in the facts of Van probably being the one targeting the trees and Yuri trying to stop him. I think it's probable Tear told Flynn and Flynn told Yuri who then pursued Van (I do think Flynn and Yuri were together until Flynn got wind of Tear and they probably split up for that and Yuri was on his own waiting for Flynn), Van fucked Yuri over (which I am still going with my planned storyline for, just going to minorly tweak some details of it/add to it), Yuri didn't get caught by the Enforcers, kept pursuing Van and just arrived too late to save the tree.

I'll rework my brain through the mental gymnastics of it later for another post, but yeah, I'm still keeping Blood Sin Yuri and him working with Kanata's group. he'll still be targeting the Vision Centrals for sure because I adore my plot for him, but I'm adding in that he was chasing after Van, probably lost track of him and ended up leaving that stuff mostly to Kanata's group since they have the same enemy if Van is destroying the trees (as Kasque also is and they're trying to stop her, so they'd be trying to stop Van too).

eventually I'll write a proper verse thing for this verse since I kinda have to at this point lol. am also working this out with @mistralxsoul, so details are getting added but I'm keeping the same stuff that I have already!

[mistralxsoul]

♆ & †

Send ♆ for a BODY headcanon.

Flynn has a scar on the upper right corner of his forehead that is mostly hidden by his bangs and can really only be seen when his hair is pushed back. The scar is from his time in the Niren Brigade, during his fight against Garista. Considering that the wound was not that severe and to avoid adding another link to his and Yuri’s involvement in Garista’s death (and to keep Jurgis from being suspected as well, since he was the one who accepted Flynn’s fabricated report with little question), Flynn opted to just let the head wound heal naturally. When asked, he states that it was just from one of his and Yuri’s fights that he didn’t want to waste an apple gel on.

Send † for a RELIGION headcanon.

Since there’s not a lot of talk of Religion in Vesperia Verse, you get a Crestoria Verse headcanon! Flynn, while not entirely devoted to the religion, does believe in the Goddess Kasque. Flynn spent a good majority of his life believing in the Goddess, and was told as a child that she had brought the Vision Orbs to the world as a way of protecting the pure from the evil that corrupted the world. As Flynn grew up in the Lower Quarter, however, his faith began to be tested as he became witness to his people being wrongfully accused of crimes and condemned because of it.

(*In Regards to @bravewolfvesperia's Crestoria verse*) By the time Yuri has been condemned, Flynn has all but lost faith in the Goddess, wondering if she truly meant for the Vision Orbs to be used in such a way.

[phasmascript]

@in-sum:

"You look like you've got something to say."

Kasque to Sync because I kinda dig their dynamic. XD

"Do these idiots think before they act or just do whatever moronic thought that enters their pea sized brain. It's honestly a surprise that half these idiots made it to adulthood." Honestly, he disliked dealing with people. "Listening to them makes me want to gargle lemon juice with glass shards and salt."

[xaracosmia]

hewwo its sammi With a heavy heart i must send kasque of tales of crestoria fame home. she was housed in castle 8 in cata and you can reach me at sorunort on twt. thank you mwah mwah

back to lazing in ur own world...

kasque has been dropped!

<3 assistant yuri

[beyondbinaries]

"Hey."

Don't mind Kasque throwing over a snickers bar.

"You're not you when you're hungry. Eat a snickers."

She saw the other was upset and decided to be nice.

✧˚ · . No clue what a snickers bar is but free things! ❝Thank you!❞

[444names]

Names generated from Brythonic deities, The Elder Scrolls' Breton names and Old English forenames, excluding the letter "C"

Abelyzat Abythosse Adebbillio Adent Adste Agaereen Agivin Agona Agram Agreen Alarryes Aldaine Alevienna Alhile Alien Allaste Alvette Alysoleu Amarnak Ambushtno Amerryane Amodrou Amoris Amyne Andorenes Anewule Antitte Apughan Araelle Ardellent Ardia Ardie Ardrie Ardval Arindel Arine Arlus Arrier Asmius Aubaria Audiosber Audiste Aureles Ausque Auzena Averod Avese...

Baldwine Banno Baram Barizam Barne Beadise Beard Belar Belgend Belia Belie Bellin Belwegorya Belwyrinne Beord Berazand Berefult Berilzouna Berine Berne Bersmiela Bette Bielin Binarine Blambelle Blanne Bogewulf Boumon Brane Brierryne Briusari Brofwina Bruberia Brusete Brusexis Bundemous Bytte Bywearra Dabytherth Dariane Darond Davelarieu Dedistyr Deline Dellevit Delleyo Develle Dissette Dordwaynie Dorois Dorth Dorya Drian Droweano Dufalhean Dundile Dundine Dunilda Dunle Dunylin Dupashrya Eadidius Eadrigard Eadyn Eanna Eanne Eardetere Earie Eartheort Eauby Eddard Edmard Ednont Edore Edousago Edramboger Edrilia Elail Elantiert Eldey Eldund Elhhelle Elinelley Elitane Ellenn Elloistert Elous Elvin Emarey Emasderham Emoree Enghry Eomiel Eomsmine Eorlene Eoros Eremoryan Erienne Esminie Ettylvera Evais Evalph Evelia Everht Falyna Ferfie Fergidrew Ferht Feverler Flard Flory Forhtmuna Frabord Frang Franot Freart Frelm Frond Gaboge Gaelis Gaeria Gaete Gastille Gatustys Gaudeine Gavautail Gaves Gaylou Gefin Gelle Gerger Gergne Gerian Gerth Geryanna Gevelia Gidarque Gielwingue Giettaine Gilia Gitenry Glesand Golle Gonis Gouarnis Grada Greda Gremer Guared Gustoista Guybaurey Guystah Gwygerall Gyssane Hawkfin Hawksleing Headerina Heady Hearna Heauver Heona Hilvelin Igeon Inannitt Ingile Jasta Jaumning Javriel Jearnitise Jemær Jenrient Jerin Jonan Josaliann Jostal Juine Jurysyne Kasque Kinette Kinwyn Krane Kurena Labosa Labris Lairria Lamas Lanealle Lanrie Larard Lashtrah Laube Launa Lavebena Layne Learle Leley Lellat Levard Lilabrus Linehamund Linte Lippe Loette Lorrian Loryantone Lulda Lurenus Lyzaulf Mabrena Madis Magash Magry Mainamise Mairine Malien Malio Manilio Mapron Mapuguilla Marandio Mararboi Marart Marda Marerroft Mareyna Marine Marjoeux Marmunot Marnol Marof Marondanne Maronnis Mashard Mastahwine Maurgedna Maurges Mavantiend Maverisag Mayurt Melfore Mellexis Melyzylbor Meritten Mestyr Miran Modard Molannau Monand Monnyr Moode Moodyr Moorel Moorwine Mordude Morgian Morionnet Morni Morra Morthyne Morydanry Munbure Nette Noelanned Nolinette Norht Nuron Odfrey Ofwine Ondique Ordywywyri Ornelia Osertard Osguaine Osigne Osithyn Oslyz Ostienien Ouisseph Pallen Paran Parien Parisa Parter Partis Pellan Pernak Peros Perthibene Peveah Phian Phierard Philina Piene Prand Preen Puguis Pyppajaste Quellaine Redwynaïg Refre Reiliane Reliene Rodena Rodorth Rolise Romir Ronne Ronnyra Ronnyvyr Ronynaux Roste Rostyste Rouse Rowehhanne Rozine Ruren Sandald Sanne Sanno Selyzabro Shwine Siandrene Siglie Sileobone Silexre Simodsury Slard Slesart Sorya Staura Stine Suria Sæmunne Sæwaynaus Talaris Talimory Tamellexi Thawkslyna Theaf Theon Theoppel Therð Thier Thrya Thwilia Thwin Thylisa Tille Tobine Torent Towealiten Troft Tsillia Tyrht Utath Utian Uttepheve Vales Valinis Vandidwin Vandrine Vanvine Variel Vaude Vaulf Vedræd Velle Verield Vielara Vienste Villart Ville Vinaelot Viraynn Virondren Vosræd Vygabeonde Vyran Vyroften Winak Wineverang Wistondes Wulient Wullerte Wulliber Wynadrier Wynelaud Wyria Yndyrredne Ynysyne Ysose Ysset Yundywyn Yvale Yvyrine Ælfge Ælfwyr

[komorykatt]

         KASQUE/MILLA ⋆ RATED G ⋆ 1567  WORDS     •  PINING  •  STAR-CROSSED  •  DREAMSHARING  

In every way Milla was Kasque’s opposite, but that only drew her gaze to her all the more often. The moon chased the sun in an endless waltz, drawn by her pull and the brilliance she lacked. She spent their lessons with her eyes stuck on every captivating move Milla made, and her nights silently wishing to a god that didn’t exist, begging for their time together to never end.

[crush3dmary]

"first 10 lines" writing meme

Thank youuuu to one of my faves @29rynoah for tagging me in the "post your first 10 lines of your last 10 fics" meme forever ago, I'm a disaster so I'm only just getting to it now. It's mostly yugioh with a smattering of Tales in there (I promise, Tales friends, i'll get back to you soon).

Variation on the word sleep - ygo | thiefshipping | 5.5k (oneshot) | rated E Malik waited for Bakura outside the hospital that night, and the apprehension swarming his body made him itch beneath his skin.

2. Philosophy of a Knife - ygo | tornshipping | 100k (ongoing) | Ryou centric | rated M (probably going up to E with the next chapter) Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

3. heartstrings - ygo | thiefshipping | 2.6k (first part of a series) | rated T Tick, tick, tick. Malik’s finger tapped against the window to an arrhythmic beat that he followed with impertinence.

4. Cephalophore - crestoria | gen - Kasque centric | 1.8k (oneshot/zine fic) | rated T Kasque had always felt most at home with a sword in her hand. 

5. Self-surgery - symphonia | onesided zelloyd | 1.8k (oneshot) | rated M Knock-knock. Zelos stood outside Lloyd’s door, rapping his knuckles against the wooden frame with a calculated rhythm.

6. Crush asphyxia - ygo | heartshipping | 2.5k (oneshot) | rated T Loneliness was a familiar feeling to Ryou; emptiness, however, was not.

7. Madraykin - symphonia | gen - Mylene centric | 3k (oneshot) | rated T Once, years ago, Mylene Wilder loved.

8. Phantom Pains - ygo | thiefshipping | Malik centric | 7.2k (oneshot, collab with Luisa) | rated M Control had always been a fickle thing to Malik, something he regarded the way one would a lover. 

9. kill / smile - saw | shotgunshipping | 1k (oneshot) | rated T Lynn Denlon is the first to admit she knows death.

10. Anhedonia - crestoria | gen - Aegis centric | 1k (oneshot) | rated T Becoming a Transgressor was perhaps the first failure Aegis could be proud of.

Feel free to steal this if you want to do it, I don't really know off hand who to tag lmao

[goldentigerfestival]

The 30 day Tales challenge... in one post or else it would never get done!

Favorite Tales game: Legendia

Favorite Main Male Hero: Yuri and Senel

Favorite Main Female Hero: Kohaku

Favorite Side Male Character: Moses

Favorite Side Female Character: Stella

Favorite Canon Pairing: Senel/Stella + Shing/Kohaku

Favorite Non-Canon Pairing: how official is stahn/leon at this point i wonder

Favorite Opening Song: Destiny

Favorite Location: ??? idfk the entire Legacy??? I'll go with Werites Beacon for simplicity I guess. feels like home

Favorite Mascot: Giet. don't tell me he's not a mascot, I'm not listening. (and if you want to try having that discussion my answer is still the Oresoren so we're not getting far, are we)

Favorite Monster: ??? also dfk, probably something cute except i don't like hurting cute so i guess we're stuck

Favorite Boss Battle: UHHHH listen it hurts to say but Vicious; bc the raw emotion that went into that entire storyline ate me whole

Favorite Villain: since I'm avoiding antagonists here (such as Duke who aren't explicitly villains) and prefer to go full villain, Creed.

Least Liked Character: not opening THAT can of worms!!! :D

Your First Tales Game: boooo boriiiing. Symphonia like the other half of the western population. no fancy answer here

Your Favorite Scene: ??? I mean, there's... a lot I guess??? Stahn pleading with Leon moments before disaster??? Kanata crying that Vicious was okay and came back to them??? Moses saying literally anything ever in any scene ever??? the end of Innocence but when you choose Spada as your soulmate bc I'm a bias little fuck??? anything with Yuri and Flynn being happy together??? the entirety of Legendia???

Funniest Scene: idk but it either had Moses in it, Vicious in it, or it was Spada's "I can't believe you mixed up Frosty the Snowman with the Abominable Snowman"

Saddest Scene: Moses' Character Quest cutscene (if not the whole fucking CQ), moments during disaster with Leon, moments during disaster with Asch

Favorite Quote: a lot of stuff Vicious said ngl. can't think of nor pick one off the top of my head but every time he Gets Serious it's one of those and I fall in love further every single time. but if we wanna be REEEALLY simple? "Yeehaw". thanks, Moses. maybe Yuri has said something cool enough to get on the top list, but I'm not sure anything is trumping "yeehaw", and maybe that's equal to something Vicious said

Favorite Piece of Gameplay Music: Scutum - Decisive Battle. Pour one out for Rebirth having the fucking BEST battle theme ever.

Most Shocking Reveal: ??? I'm... not sure at this point. Giet??? was it Senel??? maybe Mathias and Ruca??? Ratatosk and Emil??? I kind of want to say Ratatosk and Emil because I remember being very impressed with the direction of the plot, in that the main protagonist/player character was actually the villain the whole time that the antagonist was trying to kill the whole time. definitely not a plot direction you usually get in JRPGs. Giet's story still hit like an entire brick building 100 storeys high falling on me though

Favorite One on One Fight: that was actually FUN??? uhhh idk Vicious against Kasque. what did you expect me to say???

Favorite Skit: way too many skits to have even a semblance of an idea. I'm going to assume it was either something related to Yuri and Flynn, Moses, Vicious, Spada or Stahn. that's about the closest I can pinpoint

Favorite Tales Spell: I don't... think I have one...

Favorite Tales Weapon: -bangs fist on desk and gets really obvious really fast- BLOOD SINS, BLOOD SINS, BLOOD SINS. after that the Swordians

Tales World You Want to Live In: honestly Legendia's and Graces' seem the most reasonably normal compared to the rest, but also shiny fingertips and Moses is a pretty solid Legendia

Favorite Animated Tales Series/OVA: (don't say rays don't say rays don't say rays don't say stahn/leon) probably First Strike if only because it focuses on Yuri and Flynn who I love, but Abyss' anime was very solid compared to the other Tales animated series that were just heavily condensed versions (or worse in Eternia's case, not even being relevant to the main story). like, I would not recommend the animated series to anyone prior to playing the game except for Abyss, which is the full major story and I have inarguably rewatched that anime more than I've played the game. I guess in terms of general animated, FS, but in terms of actual consistency to the game it came from and dedication it had in retelling the story faithfully without skipping 80 percent of it, Abyss

Favorite Tales Outfit: RICHARD??? HEEEELLO??? not arc F though that shit is too fruity for me. also Leon has VERY enjoyably bright colors that make him stand out and as a Very Deeply Definitely Not Obsessive Leon Enjoyer, I very much love that. Aegis also has a really nice outfit. Asbel's is pretty but definitely not Richard level of I'm obsessed with this look

Favorite Game Plot: -breaks everything in your room and your neighbor's room for good measure- TURN IT BACK ON NAMCO I'M PAST MY LIMIT SO I'M PROBABLY IN OVERLIMIT (Crestoria. it's that or I'm saying Legendia again. Innocence and Hearts both are really close runner ups tho!!! definitely the most unique in the franchise imo out of the mainline games and sadly confined to "nobody fucking cares about them and never did")

Favorite Game Ending: so that's got... layers. it really depends on the sub topic. I guess in terms of a happy ending, Graces (the Wii version specifically, getting Richard back. don't really care for the ending of arc F and lean more toward disliking it). in terms of a depressing fucking ending that makes me Very Upsetti, Destiny. there is literally nothing happy about Destiny's ending for me. like yeah we saved the world, but at a LOT of cost and it's just depressing. I've wanted to make a post about that anyway, but basically it's a type of ending they don't really make anymore (especially in Tales), and the emotional impact for me was a lot heavier than the other games, with Destiny 2 lingering right behind it. both Destiny games were just DEPRESSING, and no matter how bittersweet Destiny 2's ending was, it's still DEPRESSING. Vesperia at least had a more outright happy ending (that wasn't completely changed by a post game ending arc with a totally different ending) and I finally at that point didn't lose my favorite character to Certain Final Boss Death or Recurring Side Character I Came To Love Dying Unceremoniously and Undeserved. only a couple of top favorites actually came out of their games alive for me by Vesperia in terms of games I know + release timeline (to put it into perspective, by the time of Vesperia in release order (so not the order I played in bc I don't really remember the whole actual order at this point), out of all the games I know, my favorite character death toll was five to three survivors not counting Vesperia. still haven't played Eternia so I'm not counting that one). so I guess like, my answer is a whacky combination of Graces for the Wii, Destiny and Vesperia. maybe if Hearts hadn't killed my mans off then it could've had it all. 😔

[valiantxunion]

Yeah, as much as Kanata hated to admit it, his father being found out wouldn’t have changed anything. The Vision Orbs would still be a problem and it was only going to be a matter of time before someone had turned on Kanata or the orphans again. Aegis would have likely still been framed, if Queen Rebecca was still infatuated with him. Yuna would have eventually been condemned due to her articles, Nash would have still hated him, Sonia would still be in mourning over their father– Nothing would have changed for long. The only difference is that Kanata would have likely never met Vicious. They likely would have never met each other.

Where would they be then? Kanata was certain that he didn’t want to find out.

“All we can do is just keep moving forward, right?” Kanata reached over to rest a hand on Aegis’ shoulder, in some tiny attempt to comfort the man about his doubts. “Stressing over what could have been won’t do anything for us now.”

As for the king, Kanata could only agree with Aegis’ words. The king was definitely in a position where he was definitely in danger of causing more harm than good. Him being alive and in power was a danger and Kanata hoped that by taking care of the Vision Orbs that it would also help with the king but… well, they had never been so lucky.

Once they took care of the vision orbs, maybe they would have to put their efforts in stopping the king and his corrupt reign over Medagal…? That alone sounded so far-fetched as it was but at the same time, they were literally considering facing the goddess Kasque which was miles above a single corrupt King.

“If more people knew the truth, more people could avoid the potential problem of falsely getting accused by the king or… getting wrongfully executed by him.” Kanata’s face twisted in disgust. He was still haunted by how easily the king was able to order the Queen to be killed with no remorse. He… definitely didn’t want to hear about that happening again.

That... was true enough, Aegis supposed. Justifying his crime, or at least trying to, wouldn't have really done himself any favors back then. Still, Aegis couldn't help but feel as though he understood the reasoning a little better now. It didn't change the fact that Kanata had committed a crime. Certainly not. All of them had, even if Aegis's own crime was merely taking half measures and being halfhearted about how he approached the matter of Rebecca. He still regretted that much, truth be told. But... no. This wasn't about him, Aegis reminded himself.

"Even so..." The way Kanata described his father sounded very much like what Aegis could only picture as a narcissist. Or maybe he had been more than that. In any case, Kanata hadn't deserved to have someone like that as a father. Nor did Sonia.

"You are right," he admitted. "Even back then I probably wouldn't have budged in my belief. If someone had just broadcast your father's..." Would simply branding Cody as a transgressor have really solved anything? They knew now what happened to transgressors who were caught by the enforcers. It would have saved a lot of lives. Kanata would still be free of his own stain of guilt. It also would mean perpetuating the system they now were trying to undo. So, Aegis shook his head.

"Never mind," Aegis said. "It would have taken care of one thing, but then none of us would have met. We wouldn't know what we know now. Nor would we be on our quest to try and get rid of the vision orbs." He hated to think that things had happened for a reason, especially with Kanata's insistence that Aegis himself shouldn't have been branded. Kanata even had said as such, saying he didn't like to say that he was glad Aegis was part of the group. But fate had seen fit to make all of this possible. Hadn't it?

Slowly, Aegis allowed a small smile.

"I do appreciate that, Kanata. And I'm glad we aren't enemies anymore, too. I just... wish I'd done things differently sometimes, I suppose," he said. How else would he have handled the situation with Rebecca, though? Lie as she laid dying? Tell her what she had wanted to hear? Would that not have been equally halfhearted? He sighed.

"I know it does little good now, but I hope the king faces some kind of justice for what happened," he said. How would that happen? The king had the people wrapped around his finger. There could easily be another woman he treated just as he treated Rebecca. Someone else could take the fall just the same as Aegis had.

"I suppose it's just wishful thinking," he admitted. "A man like him won't be toppled so easily. But I suppose that should give me more of a reason to work toward our goal. So that maybe someday... the truth of what happened can be revealed. I doubt that it would erase my stain, or anything like that, but... if more than us knew the truth, that would be enough."

[artyartpile]

"I'm the only one who understands you for what you really are."