Board 8 > To gain +3 to inspiration, BCT plays Tales of Berseria. *spoilers as I go*

(+) Yeah! (+)

The best part of that Aball illusion is one that completely passed me by on my first playthrough but becomes disturbingly obvious on subsequent playthroughs when you know what's up from the beginning, which I suspect is true for most people - Magilou barely talks at all throughout the entire ordeal. It's such a great piece of narrative crafting. Loud chatterbox troll Magilou being actually quiet is the first thing you should notice and a clear sign that something is very far wrong, but you're so disoriented by how weird it all is that's it's not really apparent until you're almost looking specifically for it.

Also reveals a lot about her character. She knows exactly what's going on as soon as the fog hits, but she keeps her mouth shut because she's legitimately fascinated by whether Velvet will figure it out and what'll happen when she does. It's not malicious, exactly, because as soon as Velvet asks her about it she doesn't hesitate to confirm her suspicions, but it's certainly a strange reaction to things and one that probably no other Tales character would replicate were they in her position.

That is a very good point. I didn't really notice it, honestly. The whole thing was very strange and I was more focused on trying to figure out what was going on. A Melchior illusion was definitely on my mind from the start. Notice how I really wanted to be candid about my thoughts as it went on. There were red flags, however small. Niko reacting that way to Velvet being a therion was too good to be true, and it really sucks. I wish I could have a wife like that.

Magliou being so quiet is great. I wouldn't think it malicious. I would think it would he meaner if she had been upfront about it. "Hey Velvet, we're going into an illusion. None of this is real." would get Velvet to say "the hell with you!" and anger her more. At least this way, Velvet actually got to be happy for a little again, and figured out in her own that she was being Punk'd. I think Magilou's silence also reveals a lot about Velvet - and what the best strategy is for her here. Had this been, say, an illusion for Eizen, she may have told him about the arte up front, because he'd have been more mad that she didn't say anything earlier to confirm his initial suspicion. No reason to draw that out, because there's really nothing to be fascinated by. Magliou is a real marvel, honestly. She's the only person in this party who has no reason to travel with everyone, but is doing it anyway because it's fun. Watching Punk'd has to be among her hobbies, because that's what this was: An elaborate hoax with Velvet as the victim. Mags would probably think Candid Camera was "too nice."

I'm very disheartened about Niko and the cats in Taliesin, though. The former because of how much I need someone like that in my life, and how I feel that to be too good to be true is a reflection of myself at a rather messy time (I won't go into details). I need that support and though it was just for a few scenes, it was nice to see Velvet have that. It's who the actual Niko had been until she was murdered by Artorius setting that whole nightmare up. The cats... that part just doesn't make any sense and makes the city less unique. Poor kitties. Though it's still a great place. I looked it up and apparently the name comes from Arthurian Legend (like a few things I'd noticed) and they probably found out about Wright naming his estate that, so they incorporated some of the terracing and environmental incorporation you see in Prairie Style into the design. I've seen quite a few of those and I couldn't help but be reminded of a couple of them.

And I still am curious about a few things. Why did Velvet think the dogs held it against her? They would have known she never meant to harm Niko, and would have been happy to see her... she just had to let them sniff her and boom. They could feel her guilt at being tricked by a fiendish man. Why was the book still at Velvet's house? It had no reason to be there all this time. Why did Phi just leave it behind? You'd think he'd hold onto something that important. I get why Laphi copied the most elaborate book, because that would fetch the highest price, but we could have just stumbled upon that one and still had a run-in with Melchior. I mean, he had to be there to cast and maintain the arte, right?

Doubt I'll play today, and if I do it won't be for long. Possibly just an odorless fluid run if Hellawes is still open.

Benwick is certainly not a dog person, since he got bit by one as a kid. Velvet still seems to think that Orthie and Russ (I only noticed the "Orthrus" thing now - their combined therion form was named that as well, after the mythological beast) hold it against her... when she'd been Niko's friend. Her guilt trip for this is pretty through the roof, and them not letting her near is odd (Bienfu got bit, too, for taunting them). I got bit once by a dog and needless to say, that kinda got me selective with what dogs I spend time around lol

After dispatching the serpentine Class 4 (REMINDER: Come back for the Katz chest, since I had to spend all the Katz souls at Velvet's house since I didn't wanna backtrack all that way and didn't know if the Inore Bottle would still work there)., I return to Titania. On the way, Velvet is reflecting on whether or not devouring the illusionary Aball populace was a good thing... I mean, it's true that they weren't real at the same time they WERE real. I'd have wanted to live in that dream. I'd have wanted everything to just be like that. Unless of course it was very short-term... because in this case it was. The illusion was meant to placate Velvet so Artorius can summon Innominat, and then it would all be over. I'd rather not live in that dream knowing that it would end as a nightmare. I'd rather fight off the nightmare.

Phi thinks Laphi could read the ancient language, which is why he was able to make a copy of the tome. Again, I know he picked that one because it was the most elaborate and rare, meaning it would fetch the highest price. Laphi read a lot because he was so frail, but he'd hide in Velvet's bed whenever he had a nightmare. Poor guy. She wanted him to live... and I think she's telling Phi this because he is Laphi reborn as a malak. That's why there's a near dead-on resemblance, save for the eye color change. At any rate, Velvet passes out.

We get a scene with the World Series of Villains at the Shrine of Innominat. Artorius uses some experiment arte on Oscar, and Villain Teresa comes in to protest. She goes into full-on "Big Sis" mode and wants to protect her brother from any harm, including by backing him up. The jerks terminate her, calling her "weak" and "unable to handle her malak" and blah blah blah. They just want to use Number One's powers and don't really care to treat a woman as their equal. Teresa was a tougher fight than Oscar though that isn't saying much. Like Velvet, Teresa makes a great quiche... and Oscar wants some later. Too bad he'll be too dead to taste it by then, and Teresa won't get her job back because Oscar will fail. I fully expect the "Villain" Teresa label may go the same way as "Henchwoman" Eleanor. Just as soon as I think that, she becomes a therion. That's gonna pose problems if we can't get her to change sides over this. That is... if she is a therion, because I'm pretty sure the seventh one already exists.

Velvet wakes up three days later. Hasn't missed anything new. New to me is that malakhim don't need food to sustain, and only eat as a hobby. Then why is Phi's stomach grumbling!? Rokurou asks if they perform better if they've eaten... and that's another reason they eat. Gotcha. Could've said that first! Phi chooses a rice pudding with sardines... not what I've have expected. Velvet certainly is in a hurry and doesn't care that she just woke up from a very long sleep. All business and blunt, that one. Seems that it's in Endgand, where many a shipwreck has become a ghost ship. Velvet wonders about Seres and why she trusted Velvet and wanted to kill Artorius, slipping into calling her "Sis." So... did Artorius turn Celica into a malak, too? That... would make sense, actually, if Phi is Laphi reborn.

Apparently Prince Percival is loving freedom, because he finally feels alive. At the castle, he had to have a servant yawn for him. Not quite sure how that works. I also get a very sexual tale about the "Kraken Queen" from a pirate, and this... Colossal Upright Eel that sounds more fictitious to me tbh. The liquid secretion that turns pain into pleasure, or at least numbs the pain, sounds more realistic than a giant dildo fish running on top of the water. There's a scene where Kamoana won't dry her hair and Medissa tries to make her, but by the time it's all said and done, Eleanor thinks it's dry... and Medissa reveals that Phi told her that Eleanor was Kamoana's mom's murderer, so there's the burden of responsibility. We'll see what happens, since Eleanor can't keep lying to Kamoana forever, and it's only a matter of time. Kamoana will NEVER forgive Eleanor for that.

I see that Hellawes is open and go to farm more Odorless Fluid for the rest of my session tonight. I will finish this thing tomorrow (I have 26 right now, so it shouldn't be too long).

I get up to 35 Odorless Fluids pretty quickly, and that's what I'm going to leave it at for now.

Eizen had the Bloodwings spread rumors about the gang's plan to raid an Abbey compound a long ways away, so the Abbey will hopefully not have much presence here. We then see an Abbey ship putting out a distress signal, and seafarers have a code that a ship in distress has neither allies nor enemies. Pirates, however, strip 'em of everything they got as a reward. They wouldn't be pirates otherwise! Anyway, the Abbey goons on board are dyin' and despite the helmets and armor, they can gauge that it's the corsair's scourge. And then their, er, "captain" approaches, and it's Villain Teresa, who's also not looking so good. She... wanted to meet up with us? She hijacked the ship and the goons aboard... and proceeds to spill everything that happened. Her brother, Melchior's arte, and that it amplifies malak artes far beyond their normal limits at potential risk of the wielder's life. Velvet asks why she's blabbing. She offers us a deal: Take her hostage, "negotiate" with Oscar, snatch the therion, and make an escape. That way, we get the therion, and no harm befalls Oscar, since Teresa is still being the overprotective big sister. Even if it interferes with his goals, she's all about protecting his life. That's quite nice of her. She also recognizes that we can't trust her, so she refuses medicine. Velvet forces her to take it anyway.

Eleanor says Teresa is the Dragonia patriarch's bastard child, so that's a juicy bit of info. Teresa confirms this, saying after her mother died she became a maid for the Dragonias so she could live with them, and Oscar was the only one to embrace her as family. He's all she feels she has. She also says that the earthpulse point is in some ancient ruins on the other side of Baird Marsh and informs us that Number One was confiscated by Artorius, so she's of no threat to us. One more thing: malevolence has caused civilization to rise and fall on this island many times, so the Abbey put a therion out here because of the lost spirits still restless. It's rife with the stuff and far out of the way, so troublemakers like us couldn't cause troubles... except that we're, you know, us.

Teresa (she has a skit image!!) asks Eleanor why she betrayed the Abbey, and Eleanor tries changing the subject before Teresa reveals that Oscar gave Eleanor her role, a role for which he was already appointed, because he was naive and... probably had a boner. Teresa very much holds this against Eleanor since this caused Oscar to be stationed on Titania instead, where he got his eye ripped out by Velvet... whom Eleanor now accompanies. I don't blame our Villain Teresa. Eleanor tries to defuse it by saying that her path diverged from the Abbey's, and as I anticipated, Teresa finds that answer insufficient.

After some battles (a couple close calls) and equipment management, I stop for the night outside the encampment. The party keeps saying these are strong monsters and they certainly feel like they're built of sturdier stuff than the lackeys in more recent memory... but they still go down easily unless they're a Dire Foe (same thing as in Eastgand? Huh.) or a chain encounter.

I should play more tomorrow.

Indeed you should! Not too many slow moments left anymore.

Villain Teresa starts pondering her uselessness as an exorcist because she had two malakhim with immense power but wasn't able to harness it. Her ex-malak Phi asks what she's angry about and if it's Velvet taking him away from her. Villain Teresa is still quite cold-blooded, saying "an enemy stole a tool of mine." She also refers to Velvet exclusively as "Lord of Calamity." I see she's still as xenophobic as most exorcists, in addition to being incompetent. The game is trying to have me pity her, but I really can't because she's vile.

Phi is mumbling, trying to figure out how to stand up for himself to a villain, since the remark about him being a tool really hurt him. Unfortunately, said villain hears him and refers to him as "Number Two." Geez, she's awful. Phi says his name's Laphicet and, since Velvet gave him that name, it's important to him. Villain Teresa at first seems bewildered that something can be important to what she considers a tool, which Phi also challenges. She simply agrees to call him Laphicet and says to Eleanor that it's simply to not rock the boat. So she's still very much a slave driver. I really hope we get to kill her even still. And this skit about Teresa and Oscar wiping out dozens of daemons overnight makes me think that I might be being duped, and that both Teresa and Oscar will have to die very, very soon. (Why doesn't Velvet know about Melchior's ridiculous artes? Because she fucking LIVED INSIDE ONE!)

There's a scene where Teresa fetches a thunderstag beetle for Phi, then talks about how she'd always do the same for Oscar. It's nice that the game is giving us a complex portrait of her at this point - yes, I knew she had feelings, but I thought they were mostly ruthless and cold because that's all I was privy to. She's still quite heartless, except in regards to Oscar. He even thanked her with a bunch of cicadas... YIKES. Those things are noisy! Rokurou tries to provoke Eizen into arguing about beetles again and, after Laphicet defuses it, Villain Teresa says she doesn't understand how malakhim could act so human. Eleanor proceeds to educate her that she's a xenophobic piece of shit, because apparently only humans have feelings. Pro-slavery people like Villain Teresa aren't smart enough to understand the truth. Daemons are just the same as people... because all people are daemons. Didn't Teresa know that? She's a hypocrite, too, because she's a daemon... that scene where she was receptive to Innominat still lingers in my head. Like I said, this may very well be a trap, and I'll have to do some Dragonia slaying. The party doesn't trust Teresa at all, either, even though she's being open about things like knowing about Phi sneaking off to the library... and punishing him if he continued. Slaves aren't supposed to know how to read, after all, but... she seems like she's slowly having her eyes open. Of course this could be all for show, for all I know, and... it would have had to be intricately planned.

I finally get to the fucking save point to end for the night. Phew!

I never had more than an hour and a half to play yesterday, so that's why I didn't. Tonight, however...

Velvet reviews the plan: We coerce him to give up his weapons and malak by threatening Villain Teresa. We tie him up, grab the therion, and make for the docks. We leave Oscar and Teresa behind to do what they want. Nobody gets hurt. Unless of course Oscar chooses to pick a fight... or this is an elaborate Abbey scheme to trap us.

I see our "white knight" standing in the field ahead, with the therion wallowing in pain at his feet. They are alone... and he's quite surprised to see his sister being held hostage. He tries to get Velvet to let her loose by making an elaborate show of laying down his arm, but Velvet sees through it and deflects the blade as he throws it. Villain Teresa goes to his side... and knocks him out with her staff. She confirms what I already knew that she was receptive to Innominat and proceeds to fuse with the therion to "protect Oscar." She's no longer a powerless human, and I thus have to kill her. She's really weak, even with that cool-looking Mystic Arte that... didn't do anywhere near as much damage as it looked like it would. First time any enemy I've encountered has actually used one.

Oscar wakes up and tells her she's done plenty. He mentions that their parents doted on their older brother because he was the heir and that she was the only one who actually gave a shit about him, the little brother, and he thanks her. So it goes both ways, huh? This would be touching if they both weren't absolutely horrible people, and if I didn't have to kill Oscar next. He uses armatization to fuse with his malak and turn into a daemon - but he'd say "No, this is the opposite of a daemon!" (no it's not) - and... it's not as strong as it was reported to be. He doesn't even have a Mystic Arte! He goes down just as easily as his sister did. Afterward he starts to lose control and turn into a dragon... and Velvet slashes him with her therion arm, killing him. Teresa wakes up and goes on a rant about how he gave her the family heirloom earrings because he cared about her most in the world (not realizing that was marriage proposal stuff) and Velvet immediately recognizes that Trixie is holding the same grudge that she holds against Artorius. "He was a good kid! YOU took him away!" blah blah blah. Thing is, Oscar was gonna die regardless because of this daemon transformation, and that's the fundamental difference: She KNEW this. Velvet didn't know about the 12-year sickness thing. Villain Teresa charges Velvet... and Velvet strikes her down as well, losing complete control and knowing that one of the two of them had to die there. Turns out it was Villain Teresa, who uses the last of her strength to grab Oscar's hands as they perish together. Velvet sucks the malevolence out of them and leaves them there.

This is pretty freakin' crazy. WHAT A DEATH SEQUENCE! Like... when you kill off two assholes at once, you do it like this. Powerful stuff, even though it was two bad guys who got this treatment instead of two good guys. And, with that, the Abbey is suddenly less of a threat. Shigure is gonna die next... probably when we go find our new therion, considering it didn't come back out of Villain Teresa's lifeless body. We couldn't have taken Villain Teresa back with us. No way, no how. That would not have worked out so well.

Velvet has another nightmare where she's beating herself up for being the same as Artorius, killing big sister's little brother right in front of her. Laphi appears and says it's not the same, and Velvet loses control by saying it is... while confirming that it isn't by saying she didn't have a choice.. A woman (likely Celica) and Artorius both say there's nowhere left to run... for either of them.

Eleanor goes back into Karen mode, making excuses about how they were so close and killing them saved nobody and blah blah blah. Can't she see logic? If Oscar didn't die at that moment, he would've turned into a murdering machine. If Teresa didn't die at that moment, Velvet would've died 27 seconds later. Velvet says it was to avenge her brother, taking out two of Artorius's top lieutenants. The game acts like I'm supposed to feel sorry for these two, but I don't because they were both trying to kill Velvet, who I have more emotional investment in. I feel sorry that it had to come to this, sure, but that's because of the Abbey's extremist views and xenophobia. Worth noting, however, that I really enjoyed how they wholly humanized Villain Teresa especially during this last part. It made it very apparent that she was a complex character just as any of the party members are, and they did a damn fine job of making me care somewhat... even though I never really trusted her because she was shady AF.

Eizen says that Velvet HAD to eat Teresa, and that because of this the Abbey has to find a new therion... and that's gonna take time. They have to first sense that Oscar has failed and that Teresa is also dead, because I'm not quite sure how else they'd know unless they had spies run and report something... that somehow went unnoticed by the party. This could be our time to strike, but we gotta give Velvet a little time to recuperate. This is hard on her emotionally because of how she sees herself as no different from the dirtbag she's been chasing the entire time. But Laphi in her dream was right: It's not the same. She did it in self-defense, to prevent Oscar from becoming a dragon that WOULD kill her. Sometimes those we care about most appear in our dreams to tell us those things we really know in our heart. Hey, it happened to me recently, when... wait, that's not important here.

After the very depressing piano music the entire way back, I am greeted by Benwick with a major emergency delivered by sylphjay: A ship full of exorcists set sail from Zeksom to Titania with orders to kill Velvet. Well this ain't good. They'll capture our therion breathren that way. Can't say this isn't a surprise, however. This is clearly building up to a climax. Once Eleanor denies selling them out, the party wonders if this is a trap since a civilian peddler apparently wrote the letter, so Eizen doesn't fully trust its accuracy. But... armatized exorcists are headed our way. They're going to pull out all the stops to kill Velvet on behalf of the true Lord of Calamity. There's a little thing with Bienfu staring at the end and Magilou looking at him... suspiciously. Does this mean that Bienfu was really working for the bad guys the entire time, and he's the villain tied to Magilou? Now that would be a twist you don't see much.

This is a smart party, because they're openly conjecturing what the hell the Abbey is doing. The plan to attack Titania has too many holes, as does springing a trap. They also can't fathom why Orthrus was thrown to the wind despite Melchior being right there. The illusion from Velvet's dream was to make her complacent so they could kill her, right? Or... were they just toying us us? Do they want the therions back? Was this entire thing to buy time and have fun while doing it? (There's a second skit about the Abbey's R&D, but that doesn't really tell me anything of substance.)

Anyway, I am still playing and will be posting another something... later, perhaps. Managing weapons is gonna take a couple hours. It's so obnoxious.

Oscar did have a Mystic Arte, you just beat him so fast that he never got a chance to use it.

Also, all of Oscar's moves in that battle are the same moves Sorey has when he armatizes with a wind malak in Zestiria. It was kinda interesting to be on the other end of it after abusing the heck out of it in Zestiria.

There's actually a "see every Mystic Arte" achievement that's one of the few I don't have because I also beat enemies too quickly to see them.

During this time, I forget what I look like. I forget my name. I have no idea who I am or where I've been. I take a brief walk in my lonely, cold, tiny apartment, because I realize this means I needed to get away from the screen. This mind-numbing shit is giving me a headache.

The following thoughts enter my head during the process:
1. Laphi wanted to give himself up. It all makes sense. Artorius told him "You have the 12-year sickness. The longest anyone who had that has lived past their 12th birthday is eight months." And, being 11 y/o, he took some time to accept that he was going to die anyway. So Artorius manipulated him into sacrificing himself "for the greater good" and the kid fell for it - he had no idea that Artorius had sacrificed Celica. He wanted to use the last months of his life to transcribe the Book of Innominat, picking that one because it was the most elaborate of Artorius's books and thus would fetch the highest price. His end goal was to sell it to get Velvet a new comb as a parting gift for her, a memento to tell her he'd always be watching over her. He became Laphicet #2, the malak with whom I've been traveling, in the process of the ritual.

2. The Abbey's plan was to stall. Melchior wanted to toy with us while he worked on the armatus. It wouldn't shock me if they knew we were at Titania the entire time, or figured out that became our base. Let me put it this way: It's where Velvet spent three years in a pit and Rokurou and Magilou wasted their lives away, too. Why would the three of them ever want to return there? It's an obvious place to check for that reason. There's gotta be something I am missing though.

3. Eleanor still boggles my mind. "They were a loving brother and sister - why did you have to kill them!?" makes it seem that she is still firmly on the Abbey's side. You kill your enemies before they kill you. Period. Bienfu... now he's one I don't quite trust based on that one little thing at the end of the skit that seemed so needless. The question is how he's managed to communicate with someone at the Abbey. He's tethered to Magilou, who doesn't really let him leave her sight. It's... hmmm. Magilou does need a villain to pair with her.

4. The emotional weight of the Villain Teresa/Oscar death sequence was thoroughly excellent. A necessary but brutal kill. I don't feel sorry for either of them, but the emotions were more on Velvet's end, with her thinking she's become just like Artorius. She hasn't. This wasn't a thoroughly planned scheme to dominate history. This was her acting in self-defense. Oscar becomes a dragon, she has to fear for her life. Did Teresa NOT her plans could go wrong? She fused with a therion to... do what, exactly? Was she seeking validation? Her motives were entirely selfish and the situation was her fault, but all the parallels here were so great. That scene was fantastic.

5. I want to punch whoever thought this weapon system was a good idea, because it's an utter disaster of the nuclear variety.

Please note the rest of this is gonna be LONG and be two posts' worth. It is THAT GOOD.

Anyway, I get back and finish weapons shit before heading back to Titania, stopping at Taliesin for weapons shopping and to see if that Katz can take me to Nam Cobanda Isle yet (nopers). The Van Eltia would've stopped there to reload anyway, so it's fine.

I get a scene in the ship where Bienfu sends a missive off via a Sylphjay... and Magilou catches him in the act. That little thing at the end of the skit was so incredibly obvious. Turns out someone put a hex on him to interfere with their pact (a... geas, she called it?). She dispells it, thinking Melchior must've planned everything from the moment Bienfu went to Eleanor. Bienfu is obviously terrified that she's going to kill him, but she doesn't care - Melchior was too strong. "I don't care about anything... and I don't care that I don't." HAHAHAHAHA. Man, she's something else. She proves this again when Velvet says she heard the whole thing and that Magilou should prove her loyalty by fighting with us... and Magilou is absolutely envious of this "cruelty-that's-also-compassion thing." HAHAHAHA.

This quickly turns serious when, after Velvet threatens to devour her if she wishes, Magilou asks what hate is, and why it's consuming Velvet. The conversation is interrupted by Benwick when he says there's an Abbey ship at the front docks. Instead of ordering sinking it, probably due to the lack of men, we go around back, and Magilou is vexed by how Velvet can keep crowing defiantly in the face of certain doom. She's still with us because Velvet fascinates her.

We get to the port to see Grim and the dogs backed up by two thugs. Thugs who think Velvet has ruined lives. Thugs who think she's sinful, simply by challenging the status quo. Thugs who stop thinking because they no longer exist... not that made a difference. Seriously, could these thugs even think for themselves? They thought they're some divine beings doing "good" for the world, when they were helping a villain destroy it. ARTORIUS is the Lord of Calamity and he is projecting it all onto Velvet. This is why he must die. Not because he sacrificed Laphi. Because he is evil itself masquerading as a savior. These goons died because of the armatus, not because of Velvet. Morons. I can't wait to tell Artoius "Prepare to face the weight of your sins - and pay for all the lives you've ruined!" Because he is the true root of it all. Velvet wouldn't be going around like this if not for him.

Also notable was that Phi almost gave himself up to save Velvet... and Eleanor actually had her back. Phi promises to protect her even in her emotional trainwreck state. She snapped at him because she dropped Laphi's comb and he wants her to know she can't do it alone. This... she sees her brother in him. This is redemption. Velvet refuses to believe it because of the past. Promises are worthless to her. She gives him an order - the first in ages - to worry about himself. She is losing her damn mind.

Bienfu abruptly apologizes to everyone for being a rat, but they don't blame him because Phi clarifies that it was one of Melchior's artes. Eizen calls the wizard a son of a bitch. Nice. And Bienfu admits telling the abbey that Velvet is actually waifu material. LOL. Both Eizen and Bienfu apologize for what they did to Eleanor, and everything's A-OK. Well... not the Abbey thugs giving their lives to "save the many." That isn't the logical choice there. They're not actually doing any "saving" - they're actually putting the populace more at risk because they're dumb. Velvet says we'll kill whoever gets in our way... makes me think we may have to kill someone we know. The party are aghast at how these goons and the malakhim are being used as tools... but that's pretty much any diabolical fiend like Artorius or Melchior for you. The goons are less a concern because they don't have brains of their own. The malakhim are being robbed of their will and now their bodies, which is horrifying. These pro-slavery dirtbags need to die.

I find Kurogane, Kamoana, and Medissa down by the cells and tell them to get on the ship and get the hell out of here. Kurogane gives Rokuoru an orichalcum sword, so he pulled it off! I still gotta find Prince Percy and Griffin. Three bucks says Shigure is holding them captive and Rokurou is gonna have to kill him here and now. The prince says that the bastard Artorius is here himself... WELL THEN. Velvet thinks he wants to fuse with Innominat to christen himself a god. That would make sense. He was after glory the entire time, as I figured.

(con't)

Benwick is waiting saying the enemy is sending ships toward the Van Eltia, and Eizen demands to set sail. Because she wants to die, Velvet stays behind to stand around. There's no other logical reason than suicidal ideation. Eizen thinks she's insane, which she very clearly is. But Velvet wants to kill Artorius here and now, before he can perfect fusing with Innominat. Logical. Why wait until he's gotten so strong you can't kill him? Percy offers himself as a hostage. Well that's nice of him. Phi also notes how Velvet isn't thinking rationally... gee, ya think? He'll eventually have to make a decision about her... of some kind.

Just as everyone on the Van Eltia is relieved that they lost the Abbey navy, Grim realizes something awful about the book. Innominat is already... within Artorius? At the fortress, all hell breaks loose when Rokurou and Shigure start sparring - Rokurou getting to play with his new toy - and Artorius daring Velvet to kill him. Phi can't let her die here even though Eizen knows it's a trap.... and suddenly his voice changes and he tells a fellow malak that he's not a tool and nobody can stop him. And Artorius says Innominat will be facing Velvet. Like I said: She is suicidal.

AND THEN IN A HOLY SHIT CRAZY PLOT TWIST it turns out that Innominat... is actually Laphicet, and he recognizes her. HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT DID NOT SEE THAT COMING. So the "sacrifice" was... to give Innominat a vessel!?!?!? He is now The Suppressor - the manifestation of evil that Artorius so badly wanted to summon.

I lose the fight in less than one second. The game lets me retry, so I just stall because I can already tell this is one of them unwinnable fights. Which it is. Turns out they needed eight "types" to awaken Innominat and not a specific amount of malevolence. And now, he will fully awaken by devouring Velvet. He breaks orichalcum - so much for that being so strong - and Velvet shanks him. He feels it, but he's not really in pain. He lies to her to obtain her powers. She goes from rejecting him as an illusion to embracing him, because she never wanted him to go away. She really believes it to be her brother. She is an emotional trainwreck. He says he never wanted vengeance... because that creates daemons. And he wants to make all the pain in the world go away. Or so he says. At what cost is that going to be at? Eizen thinks it's sacrificing free will, which it is. The Shepherd wants everyone in the world to be his sheeple, his brainless zombies. This is why he is the Lord of Calamity: He is bringing about a "new age" of nothingness that will lead humanity to ruin. Just so he can be in charge. Just so he can be immortalized. It's all about his own self-gratification. Fuck him.

Back on track, Laphi eats Velvet as per her wishes, and takes the rest of the party, too. He starts saying she's hurt so many people for no reason... uh, that's Artorius and his manipulation of everyone. But wait, Phi learns Force Field and... a warp arte? Out of nowhere? Talk about your Deus Ex Machina. And then a miracle occurs... yeah. I don't like those in my writing. Prince Percy calls out Artorius and is promptly taken hostage again. Great. Just great.

We jump into an earthpulse and Magilou says that Innominat is using the land as his vessel... well that's ten degrees of fucked up. Magilou and Bienfu seem to be alone, but Melchior is there to corner her. Great, just great. Magilou starts writhing in pain... apparently this asshole was her teacher? And he should've broken her heart more? Seriously, these villains are downright diabolical. Absolutely zero redeeming qualities in any of them. The alive ones, I mean. It makes me want to get to kill one of them now.

Instead Phi wakes up to see Velvet already turned into a zombie. When Phi says something, she snaps out of the trance and returns to her angry self, bemoaning that this Laphi is an impostor. No, he's not exactly... he's the vessel for the villain Innominat. Velvet has a memory appear from her, which she slashes because she can't take it. She can't stand to see herself happy with... someone who may be a traitor? I... she is MENTAL! She starts barking orders at Phi and Eleanor takes initiative to smack her. YOU GO, GIRL! Velvet calms down and returns to zombified. She... holy fucking word. I am speechless and not saying anything myself. She is so unhinged that she probably should just fulfill her deathwish. Her comb drops and Phi picks it up. Better not offer it back to her now. He doesn't. He expresses great concern and refuses to rest inside Eleanor. He wants to help Velvet. He wants to help her find her inner peace.

That is more than enough for tonight. To recap:
-This is off the fucking rails, just like Velvet
-Artorius is a piece of shit, but you already knew that
-I never expected THAT twist, and am still reeling (had to walk it off to calm down)
-The Oscar/Teresa scene was great, and it was nice that those two were humanized instead of being the OTTNN villains the rest are
-Weapon management is a big headache
-Did I mention this is absolutely bananas?
-And then a miracle occurs...
-GEEZ THIS WAS GREAT

This game was certainly a slow burn but the payoff was more than worth it. There was a lot of buildup and the party chemistry was solid (largely because Magilou) to get here, but it's finally past the point where it's good the entire way through.

That Innominat fight should've been a forced loss rather than being a timed battle, given how strong Insubstantiality is and how fast he can cast it. I struggled with that more than most fights, and you weren't even supposed to win this one.

Ah yeah, here comes the really good stuff soon. I've been looking forward to this part since very early in your writeups, because I think you missed a couple details early on that are about to get cleared up pretty unequivocally.

Also because the next ~couple of hours alone contain most of the best character moments in the game.

I find Oscar and Teresa to be pretty unremarkable antagonists for the vast majority of the game, but the events leading up to and including their demise really send them out on a high note. Berseria does a lot of somewhat-indirect musing on the idea of people largely becoming whatever the world makes them, and the siblings manage to be a solid example of that from outside the party by the time all is said and done.

Awwwww yeah here we go

I knew full well you guys would be rushing in because this was the big payoff of the slow burn that the game was building toward. That entire sequence had more interesting stuff happen than in the entirety of Graces, and it's close to Vesperia with that too (that game at least had Yuri's assassinations and Alexei going "I am bad guy I do bad guy things!" - but Artorius is a substantially better Big Bad).

Part of what's making Artorius a capable villain is that the Grand Vizier is a diabolical scheming pile of shit... like a Grand Vizier usually is. Melchior really planned things to a T to get his wishes. And Artorius wants to have a world free of emotion as well. No, it's not just pain they're getting rid of. With that, they're getting rid of free will. They're getting rid of happiness. You can't know what pleasure feels like if you can't feel pain. He's trying to numb everyone into being zombies, and it's a thoroughly evil scheme.

Mewtwo59 posted...

That Innominat fight should've been a forced loss rather than being a timed battle, given how strong Insubstantiality is and how fast he can cast it. I struggled with that more than most fights, and you weren't even supposed to win this one.

Yeah, the fact that I lost the battle in one second shows that it wasn't designed correctly. Think like in Abyss, with the first fight with Asch in Yulia City - you CAN actually win the fight with wizardry on a later playthrough, but it's nearly impossible and not worth the effort because it doesn't change the end result.

NBIceman posted...

Ah yeah, here comes the really good stuff soon. I've been looking forward to this part since very early in your writeups, because I think you missed a couple details early on that are about to get cleared up pretty unequivocally.

Also because the next ~couple of hours alone contain most of the best character moments in the game.

I find Oscar and Teresa to be pretty unremarkable antagonists for the vast majority of the game, but the events leading up to and including their demise really send them out on a high note. Berseria does a lot of somewhat-indirect musing on the idea of people largely becoming whatever the world makes them, and the siblings manage to be a solid example of that from outside the party by the time all is said and done.

I always miss a few little things, sometimes because I get focused on OTHER things. It's those details you tend to pick up in later playthroughs when you know what's gonna happen.

I do agree about Thug Oscar and Villain Teresa - they were generic "getting in the way" baddies who didn't really have anything going for them, but that final stretch for them really humanized them in ways that the other villains have yet to have. The world did shape their views - in part because their older brother got all the attention, so they wanted to do something "good" for everyone. And they became corrupted by their idealism, not realizing that they were actually causing great harm to everyone. It's these things that make you think and I love the game for that. It's actually making me think instead of having a straightforward "save the world" story. We ARE saving the world from certain ruin, but it's asking a lot of questions:
1. Are the heroes really all that different from the villains? - There's some idealism there, but Velvet went out for revenge and is now caught in a crossfire. She has to finish what she started. She has to kill Artorius for manipulating and using Laphi, and making him Innominat's vessel. So they're quite different. Velvet is more humane and reactive. Artorius is a proactive diabolical fiend.. Velvet killing Oscar was very different from Artorius and Laphi. One was elaborately planned while the other was self-defense. But there are more layers to it than that.
2. Is revenge really a quest worth pursuing? - Velvet's motivations are selfish. She's hellbent on avenging someone who apparently didn't want to be avenged, simply because that was her perspective. As you know, everyone is the hero of their own story. Artorius sees what he's doing as noble, even though he's even more selfish than Velvet. He wants to be a god. He will pay for this with his life. But the vengeance isn't worth it: Saving the world from ruin is. After all, the true Lord of Calamity is Artorius, and he's shepherding the sheeple to be his cattle full-time. That is what "Shepherd" means. His livestock are sheeple, much like certain real-world villains try to do. I am like Velvet in that I resist it and it pisses me off to see people eating up the nonsense.
3. What truly is insanity? - It's very clear that Velvet has become wholly unhinged. She isn't thinking clearly. Her distorted desires are blinding her to rationality. There is a very good chance she dies, giving her life to kill Artorius. But she's insane simply because the world made her so. A dirtbag used her brother. All her family was killed. She rotted in a prison cell for three long years. She lost her sense of taste. She got to go back to the way things were for a day, only to find out it was an illusion, which only further drove her hinges flying off. The world really shapes people. I know my opinions and the rationality of thoughts in my head were shaped by the exclusionary nature of people in my life. I learned to resent daemons myself. The game does do a good job of making people... people.
4. Is Innominat... the entire planet? - Yeah, I really wanna know what an Empyrean truly is, and what would happened if we killed one. Using the planet as a vessel is... big yikes.

I was also anticipating Artorius revealing that he'd sacrificed Celica but that's probably going to come shortly. I don't know what else I was going to say here because so much happened... but that was so good that I'm gonna boot this up and play now. This will be in a separate post because this one's gone on long enough!

Okay, I got a couple hours here. Let's GOOOOO!

I fight my way through and get Eleanor and Phi speculating on whether or not Innominat really is Laphicet Crowe. Phi thinks it is, because Velvet smelled a rat in Aball, and thought this was real. It's still clear to me that Laphi is simply Innominat's vessel; that was the point of the sacrifice. He gave up his humanity to become a god. He was manipulated by a fiendish man named Artorius into doing this; Artorius merely wanted it for his own ends, and a naive kid was the easiest mark. It's so sick and twisted that he'd do this. The guy is twenty levels of demented. AND he thinks he's saving humanity, when he's herding zombies.

The chests around here don't have anything of substance since I'm pretty well-stocked with healing items. I only really use them against bosses or chain battles because there's no need otherwise. Through the second area, I encounter a memory of Artorius. He is resting by a tree, possibly dying, and Celica finds him. Is this perhaps when they met? Apparently he's been on a journey for ten years and his master entrusted something to him... who's the master? Melchior? His stomach grumbles and Celica says that means his body wants to live, so she offers him an apple and invites him to dinner. She asks him "Is life something you have to earn? To deserve?" and this is very much a deep thought. The answer is simple: Life is free. A good life is something earned. There's a reason rich bastards still get depression. There's an emptiness to their life, in part because they're getting a free pass. Meanwhile people like me are trudging along trying to earn something of substance. Celica gets through to him - you eat when you're hungry and cry when you're sad. That's called being human. It's called life. The fact that malakhim and daemons have these same feelings is proof just the same. The bastard corrects himself from saying he's "Artorius" to "Arthur." And the manipulation begins. This is what sets Velvet off. Rokurou and Eizen wanna know what that display just was. Thank goodness they're (obviously) safe!

Velvet theorizes that because Artorius made a fool out of her that was "why she freed me from the prison." In other words: My previous theory that Seres and Celica were one and the same was correct. And Velvet... knew this? That must be one of the things I missed. Rokurou has learned his lesson about flexibility of blades, and Eizen says he'll use Velvet as bait to get us out of here since this is Innominat's blood. He thinks it's necessary and doesn't see any other options. She's not being used as a tool because there's no Plan B. Eizen also discusses Earthen Historia, which is nature's way of recording practically everything. Whatever happens is entrapped in a memory inside here. Innominat can show these memories and manipulate the situation to his favor, which is precisely what he's doing. Evil little thing. Rokurou reminds us that there's more to strength than hardness - she's breaking because too much pressure is being put on her, and she'll snap if we don't keep an eye on her. Phi says he won't give up on her. She needs friends right now, after all.

I stumble upon another memory from some time later, after Artorius and Celica had gotten intimate. He fixed the village fences to ease the minds of the elders, and he mutters daemon stuff to himself. This is before people really knew what was happening. Velvet and Laphi were at the cape (the latter's choosing) and Celica mentions the unborn baby girl. Artorius is shocked, but he puts on an acting job about "I never thought I'd be this happy." What an asshole. Like seriously, faking all this? He's not a nice guy. He's demented. He gives her some sort of pendant... and a fake promise to protect them both with his life. This sets Velvet off. She knows he's evil and full of shit. There's also a gigantic daemon watching us. Ruh-roh Raggy. The gang think "it" is coming. I presume that means the confrontation where Velvet finally kills the bastard.

There's definitely one more memory - the one where the asshole sacrifices his pregnant wife. The party is unnerved by this. Phi says it gave him the creeps to think about Artorius as a warm person given how he's a heartless bastard. Eizen also says that there's worse to come given how intricately and sadistically this was planned. All to get at Velvet, so she'd be weak enough to give herself up for the sake of his evil scheme. This is gonna be good. Wait, this is ALREADY good. Another memory pops up: The one I have been waiting for. On the Scarlet Night, Artorius is battling daemons at the cape. Celica is backing up toward The Hole. She falls in by accident. Huh. Artorius... is actually devastated. He finds the pendant he'd given her a few weeks before, and as he grieves... Melchior says humans are weak and filled with sin. Where the hell did that piece of shit come from? Artorius knows him. And Melchior says that Celica was the sacrifice for everyone else to escape and hide. The "reason" they act is based on the weight of their sins... and Melchior wants to adjust it. And then, two malaks appear: Celica as Seres, like I'd conjectured. And... the unborn child as Phi. INTERESTING! Obviously, I know now that Laphi and Phi aren't the same person, but... for the nephew... HOLY SHIT this is gonna be good. Melchior at this point didn't understand why Innominat was not yet summoned. Artorius forges the pact with Seres and vows to end all pain in the world because he doesn't want anyone else to feel the way he does in this moment. This makes sense, but his idea of "ending pain" does not. People die. I don't know why, but they do.

Melchior mentions a friend and Artorius says he's the heir of Claudin Asgard, former head of the exorcists. This information means nothing to me. Phi is stunned, and he didn't remember this event, or being Velvet's nephew and Artorius's son. Velvet confirms that she ate Seres and knew that she was actually Celica's reincarnation. I did not until Velvet slipped and referred to her as "Sis." Velvet will devour anything to achieve her goal... well that's dedication AND insanity. The Opening is when 1) people could see daemons, 2) malaks were robbed of their free will, 3) Melchior's evil scheme was set in motion, and 4) Artorius lost hope in people and decided to change them all into zombies. This is what turned him into a madman.

At any rate, that's two hours. And I'm ready to be done for now. I will play a little more tonight!

Eizen says nobody knows why humans can be reborn as malakhim... or how, for that matter, just that it does happen and usually among people with greater resonance. The fact that the Scarlet Night is when it happened is probably why Celica became Seres and Celica's child became Phi, and that it was Innominat's doing. But that's not our concern right now - we'll worry about that later. Eleanor starts acting selfish and whines about Velvet eating Seres... not realizing that it was because her boyfriend injured Seres and Seres asked Velvet to do it as a mercy kill. Speaking of said boyfriend... there's probably a reason that they're making sure I know about this rebirth thing. And it may be that Thug Oscar or Villain Teresa is reborn as a malak. I'd think the latter is more likely given how she merged with the therion.

There's a wormhole, but before I can enter it, a memory pops up. Laphi asks Artorius to speak privately, and he recites something from the Book of Innominat that references the sacrifices on the Scarlet Night. And Artorius admits the sacrifices of Celica and Phi. Laphi knows a lot: He knows that The Opening improved resonance... and the need for another sacrifice. He volunteers to fulfill that role, to complete Innominat's resurrection and rid the world of daemonblight. Birds fly because they must... and Laphi likes this to being sacrificed. He knows he will die at 12 y/o because of his disease, so he can't wait another three years. He wants to use his life for something: To make a new world where Velvet can be happy. However, she can't know about this, and that part makes sense because of how she reacted when she DID find out. He knew this. I'm surprised he didn't write her a suicide note, however, because that's what a typical person would've done, explaining that he didn't want to be a burden for the last year of his life since he knew he was going to die anyway. This sets Velvet off.

She seems to think these are lies, but if the way Laphi behaved at the cape before the sacrifice is any indication, they're not. He was prepared for it. He was complicit in it. And I don't know if I said that I noticed that or not, but I certainly did. This means something unfathomable: The mastermind behind the entire ritual was none other than the very 11 y/o boy who Velvet has spent the entire game attempting to avenge. In other words... Laphi is the real villain. The one who enabled Artorius to get away with this all. The one who wanted to be Innominat's vessel. The one who failed to complete his goal only because Velvet dove into the void to save him, inhibiting the malevolence from her grief and vengeance from entering his new form.

To say this is insane is an understatement.

To say Velvet is insane is also an understatement.

She feels heavily betrayed by them both, and the lack of a suicide note explains why she'd feel that way. The ONLY reason they didn't want her to know is because she's like this. And now, Laphi is fucking with her emotions by showing memories of her. Things she'd said to him and/or Artorius. She wants it all to stop, because this feels like a real, genuine nightmare. The way instain Velvet starts knocking every memory that pops up to avoid the torment and the Chimera daemon (which it's actually called) that had been watching us attacks. Welp.

It goes down easily and Velvet devours its malevolence... only to see a part of herself be its human form. She whines that she's dead and Phi tells her it's an illusion. She is not thinking clearly to the point that she's incredibly easy to manipulate. This is what villains do. Think Russell Hantz: "If I can control how they feel, I can control how they think." Look at how well it worked out for that asshole. Speaking of assholes, Innominat shows up to personally attack every facet of Velvet's character, saying she lives and dies by her emotions. Phi denies it. Velvet admits it's true... but it's not. She's out for survival. She's trying to kill the people who were trying to kill her from the start. Innominat starts spreading lies, saying she showed no mercy to Seres. Uh, hello? She hesitated. She didn't want to do that, but was given no choice. Same goes for Hellawes. Villain Teresa set a trap for her. Velvet had to outsmart her. If Trixie didn't do that, Hellawes wouldn't burn. Innominat says he "still loves her" and he was "afraid of dying" because it was dark. Something here does not add up.

Velvet says it was all for nothing and for nobody... but that's not true. He's basically saying she should've given herself up at the same time he's saying he wanted to create a world for her. He says she needs to atone for her sins. She can do that by killing Artorius, of course, but Innominat wants to sacrifice her to cleanse the world of pain and sadness. It's hypocritical. The monster threatens to devour Phi as well because he was part of the first sacrifice. Phi isn't letting this happen. Eizen tells Phi off and Phi yells in Velvet's face to STOP WHINING. XD! She's not some heartless monster. She's fighting the heartless monsters who are now manipulating her. Phi reminds her of her kindness. She gave him a name when he'd just been a number, she gave him a compass to further his hobby, and taught him what it meant to be alive. And gee, who had taught him that he was nothing more than a tool? Villain Teresa. Velvet needed to hear this. This is why Phi wants to protect her. Not just because he's her nephew. But because his Auntie Velvet has meant the world to him, and he can't live without her. This is awesome. She almost eats his arm so she can hang on, and he needs the other to clobber the jerk who made her cry. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! Her despair suddenly dissipates because she was reminded of the love inside her. The people she cared about, and cares about now.

We get a quick aside with Seres, who is symbolically the fire inside Velvet. Velvet admits she can only fight for herself. And that's proof that she's alive. This entire thing is just awesome. It's raw. It's brilliant. and it's one hell of a climax. I am truly touched by this. There hasn't been a scene in a Tales game quite like this since Abyss, with so many emotions running haywire at once. Velvet sends the monster blasting off like Team Rocket and enters the portal.

Back with Magilou, Melchior has her restrained. She's shattered and regenerated her heart 107 or 108 times. How pricelessly precise! Melchior is torturing her and messing with her mind instead of simply killing her like a smarter villain would. Instead of fucking with Melchior, Magilou chooses to fuck with Malak Number One by his side. She tells him that his former companion has gotten to see the world and live undaunted by its ugliness. Melchior strikes her down again, and she keeps fighting him. She says it's not for them, but because she can't die before the story ends. Such a Magilou thing to say! As soon as Melchior calls Mags his greatest failure, the gang pops out of the portal and sends him soaring. Magilou tells Velvet about the boring conversation - something that never happens with the party. Velvet says that two certain assholes would have wanted her to get over it. But she's not gonna. She has to put a stop to their shit. No matter how sad it gets, she's taking her vengeance to the end. Melchior says its' Velvet's "destiny" to wallow in despair, and if it truly believes that, then it must die here. If that is your destiny, you give it the middle finger and say "Fuck you. You can't tell me what to do." and change your fate. We can start by killing this thing in front of us. Melchior projects its own monstrosity onto Velvet, failing to realize its failure of logic.

Continuing to play... more as I fill up posts!

We swiftly dispatch it and it doesn't even have a Mystic Arte. Like... what is with the lack of villains having them here? Instead of devouring it, Velvet tells Melchior to tell Artorius Innominat that she'll never forgive them for taking her precious life from her. It responds by saying that "The annals of history are stained with evil people like you!" when, uh, Melchior isn't even human, so IDK why it's saying that. This thing is too horrible to be human. Hypocritical, pro-slavery, heartless... I can't think of a nice thing about it. Melchior accuses Velvet of spreading violence and destruction for her own ends... when that's what it does. It was the one who planned all kinds of things to immortalize itself, not caring about who or what was sacrificed along the way. It was the one who ruined many, many lives, including Velvet's. I can't help but laugh at its statements. It really feels self-righteous despite all the sin it has spread. It tries to summon its monster brethren but Zaveid shows up to shoot it and Aifread into the wormhole, closing it. He acts cocky for lulz before telling us that this is The Calix of Hexen Isle, an Abbey facility. Methinks we should blow it to bits. But before we do... Malak #1 is just moping around. Zaveid takes him with us. He's... very emotionless. But he just got his freedom and the three malaks he needs to help him understand it are there to help.

INTERRUPTION: I max out my scout ship level to 25! Nothing happens. What. I thought that would unlock the final area. Y'know, the one that was mentioned earlier, whatever it was.

Magilou asks Velvet why she's so chipper all of a sudden. Velvet... thanks Magilou for being a friend. Magilou immediately thinks something's wrong and is disappointed that she's seemingly lost the bet - right after having thought she'd won it (because Velvet DID break) - so she's trying to look for a chipped tooth so she can justify having won that paltry 100 gald. Things are back to normal. Velvet is back to normal. Torturing Bienfu, Magilou trolling... and apparently showing the inside of one's mouth is embarrassing? Never thought that. Makes no sense.

The enemies here are the same weaklings from the attack on Titania, and they die FAST. Phi feels bad that Number One had nowhere to go after Villain Teresa's passing (I mean, he got his freedom and was shown what it's like), and Zaveid laments dealing with kids. He's gonna do it to make sure this kid collects himself the same way Phi did. Names suggested for him are... well... "Ichiro" is the only good one (but that was Shigure's original name - so he was the first son, not the fourth). Names like "Ichi" ("one" in Japanese) and "Numby" are... cringe. "Hajime" is too Japanese. "Bob" is too generic and too based on his hair. The girls want something cute, but the guys hate that idea. If my mom had chosen a "cute name" for me, I'd have been embarrassed for life and held it against her every time I was bullied for that name. It's like the guy who was literally named Optimus Prime going by "Tim." Should've legally changed it. The guys decide to go with "Silva" but I'm a little...
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/jamesbond/images/1/1b/Raoul_Silva_-_Profile.png

Yeah... going full Bond villain isn't the right move here. But Silva it is. Bienfu says he was moved by Magilou fighting Melchior, and her recap of the Mexican Standoff is as Magilou as ever. She's laughing at the faces the thing made... in addition to its utterly absurd comments. I push on and find a dragon in a cage. The conclusion is that it's connected to Innominat, and Zaveid is stumped as to what we're discussing. We explain it to him - sadly, the game doesn't take this opportunity to remind us of a few details - and Rokurou loves how ice-cold Velvet is with the idea of killing her traitorous brother. Rokurou asks why Innominat awakens via malevolence if he's the one who's supposed to suppress it... and what would happen if he can't stay awake via malevolence. He may return aslumber until he's needed again, in that case... unless there's something else he can feed off of, like an immortal dragon. The Abbey's goal is to sacrifice everything for their ideal world, not caring who they hurt in the process. It's so hilarious to me how they make Velvet into the villain when she's so much better than them, because at least she recognizes her faults. At least she's defending herself instead of manipulating people. Maybe if people accepted her, things would be different. We're not gonna free the dragon because it'd take a bit out of us. Logical.

Eleanor really resents the Abbey now, realizing that the image she'd built of them was fake. The dragon here was a captive malak they injected with malevolence... which is horrific. Magilou says they can make therions and dragons, and asks if they'll find a way to make humans, too. Eleanor can't believe she went there, even though she believes it. I can think of ONE church that's actually done that...

Velvet shuts down any notion that Artorius is Phi's father - he was reborn, so he's him now. And if he was a dog in a past life, he's not part of that dog's family now. He then threatens to bite Magilou for calling him a puppy. They've gotten good at responding to her. She went from doing the trolling to getting trolled harder. Zaveid warns us about fighting Aifread, since he's been superpowered by Melchior's illusions corrupting him. I think he's still salvageable. We just gotta kill the monster responsible. Should have done that already. I don't get why they let such a foul creature escape.

I warp out and the Toitolez is there. Yay! I have a lot of weapons to manage. I spend ten minutes getting a start on that and realize it's already 11:15 and go "WHOOPS!" and decide to call it a night.

Thanks for reading all this! Here, have two screenshots - first being when Insane Velvet was grabbing Eleanor and the second shows you how actually pretty Velvet is:
https://i.imgur.com/buzeYCD.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/FYVT7M9.jpg

I should really try working these into my write-ups more but you guys know what I'm talking about.

Sundays are the worst day for my ability to play but I may be able to get a little in - we'll see!

BlueCrystalTear posted...

She almost eats his arm so she can hang on, and he needs the other to clobber the jerk who made her cry. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!

I can finally talk about this! This is my favorite scene in any game I've played. I've rewatched it at least three times since you've made this topic now and it gets me emotional every time. Can't think of another scene in gaming that can do that to me. There's a lot that makes Berseria my favorite Tales game but the Velvet/Laphi dynamic is such a huge part of why and just yeah.

It also cements Laphicet as the best child character Tales has done and probably one of the best in any RPG to me. Child characters aren't supposed to have badass lines like that! lol

Agreed. Laphi is the only tolerable child character.

I forget where velvet and Eleanor landed in the first waifu contest. I don't think they did quite as well in the second.

Yeah, that scene was one of the best emotional scenes I've ever seen in a game. Like... Velvet's sanity is gone. The evil fiend Innominat is manipulating her emotions so he can consume her for his selfish desires - he's the one that's truly corrupted. And Velvet isn't standing up for herself. So who does for her? Her young nephew. Complete opposite of what you'd expect. It's so badass and seriously made me smile. It was joyful. It was badass. It was awesome.

Abyss is my favorite Tales game because of how thoroughly awesome it is, but Berseria is definitely #2. Like this is the Tales I've been waiting ages for.

And yes, Phi is easily the best child character in a Tales game. Like, before him you've had:
He Whose Name Rhymes With Penis - That title is the only remarkable thing about him. He's not unlikable or obnoxious, just forgettable.
Anise - Let's not get started on Anise lol
Karol Capel - He's a halfway decent character, actually, even if there are times when he's acting his age. He's the only person in Vesperia to show any kind of personal growth - every other Tales I've played certainly has more than one person who has had shifts in personality shaped by experiences (whether that be a party member or not). But that doesn't make him better than Phi.
Graces didn't have a child character.
Elize - Elize is good. Likable and intriguing story-wise, but really, the only reason she's memorable is Teepo. Teepo switches between funny and obnoxious. And Teepo is technically Elize's conscience, so...
Elle - Elle was a typical child character, really, and had a strong storyline but not much else going for her. I really don't remember anything other than the sickness and the ending with her tbqh

Peace___Frog posted...

I forget where velvet and Eleanor landed in the first waifu contest. I don't think they did quite as well in the second.

I know in the second that Eleanor didn't do so hot. I don't know if Velvet even made the cut. I certainly would've saved them as later priorities but probably never gotten around to that tbh. I like them both, but Velvet isn't actually waifu material and Eleanor's still a recovering xenophobe. Both fantastic characters, but I doubt I'd marry either of them lol

Yeah I agree about your assessment of the other child characters here. I actually like Karol a lot given his character development but he's got nothing on Laphi and Elize is also an interesting character as well. The others...not so much haha.

Looking forward to the conclusion here. It's a wild ride!

Be prepared for a lot of monologuing lol

After some weapons managing, I move forward and a wayward Shadow Ball moves out and kills Silva. Turns out it came from Innominat, the daemon lord. That's all Innominat really is: A daemon. It seems to think that Silva needs to be "sacrificed for peace" - what a heartless jerk. Manipulating Velvet, sacrificing KIDS... you can call Velvet and Rokurou "things" all you want, but the REAL "thing" is YOU, Mr. Empyrean. Seriously, the hypocrisy of these monsters is atrocious, and makes me want to kill them... and I wonder why they let Melchior life when it has no reason to be alive. All they want to do is to pacify everybody into brainlessness. They're truly evil. The party agrees, with them making such comments about Innominat's vile nature and its lack of mercy.

Zaveid steps forward and starts using Siegfried like it's an evoker, Persona-style. He is MAD and wants to take down the "murdering scum" like this "rotten little delinquent." I honestly think he's being too nice to this fucker. It deserves that and then some. Unfortunately, Zaveid loses the fight, and Innominat taunts us. Phi volunteers as tribute and Innominat says Phi is a part of it. Phi rebukes and the two "Laphicets" - the good one and the morally corrupt monstrosity - duke it out while everyone else fights the dragon, which keeps healing itself. Innominat continues to dominate but Phi is holding his own for as long as he can, but Innomiant continues its cruelty. It seems to think it knows how Velvet feels... but it was the one trying to fuck with her. It was the one who was trying to make her vulnerable. And Phi was the one who placated her, who calmed her... and got her to realize that the little fucker was a traitor. Phi sacrifices the compass, which gets Innominat to drop its guard enough for a BEAUTIFUL punch to the face. Innominat uses Hyper Beam to hit the party from behind, but it only hits the dragon instead. GEE DID YOU THINK THAT THROUGH?

Innominat throws a hissy fit because it destroy its own monster yet somehow it's all Phi's fault. It hurls another Shadow Ball at Phi only for Phi to... shake it off. Innominat cannot believe its eyes. In its daze, we board Zaveid's ship and get the hell out of there. Sadly, I won't be able to finish off the Code Red that was there. I'll have to come back later.

Innominat is joined by Artorius, Aifread, and Melchior... Artorius has the gall to call Phi "a fragment of Innominat" and "a thing" when it and its friends are all "things" themselves, saying things like "malakhim only exist to serve Empyreans." Like... I'm sorry, but how fucking inhumane and inconsiderate can you be? There are so many layers to how badly I want you all to go to Hell where you belong. History is filled with villains like YOU - and YOU seem to think YOU'RE the heroes when all you're doing is trying to end the world. Seriously, FUCK. YOU. ASSHOLES. Melchior spills the key to us winning: Awakening the four true Empyreans, not this false one. And there's apparently some "Ceremony of Suppression" which is probably just as horrendous and dictatorial as it sounds. The monsters send Aifread after us, with the orders to murder Phi in cold blood before Velvet's eyes and then capture her alive. MAN, can't I kill these monsters right now? PRETTY PLEASE WITH BACON ON TOP?

I end up in Cadnix, the nearest port, and Phi is still asleep. Him being part of Innominat gave him those powers, but not the stamina. And Magilou continues to make drama over that 100 gald, including blaming Rokurou for... no reason. Rokurou and Eizen both respond with 10,000 gald bets that Velvet cracks. Now we're talking - that's money that can actually buy something! Magilou... takes that bet, then acts angry when Rokurou calls her "cute" to cover up how flattered she is. LOL! Classic Magilou.

Velvet has another nightmare... or a vision of sorts. Seres says she's a malak with Celica's memories, so she's not exactly Velvet's sister (and ergo, her son isn't exactly Velvet's nephew). Seres says that her being Artorius's stool pigeon and Velvet consuming her are different, because the latter was requested and would've inevitably happened anyway. Seres/Celica says that the "kind and caring Arthur" was not the "cold and cruel Artorius he is now" - and that was a discrepancy when the memories returned. Artorius was none the wiser, because this memory-regaining is a very rare occurrence. She switches between her two identities: The one who loved Arthur and the one who hated the man he/it (wait, no "she" this time?) became. She can't forgive him and treats him/it as two separate people, and asks Velvet to kill him. Velvet is more than happy to, and reminisces about the happy times they spent together as Celica fades away. Good scene. Usually serves as a prelude to actually killing the bastard.

Velvet goes for a walk and sees herself brimming with malevolence. Phi comes up to her and returns the comb her former brother had given her, saying her hair is beautiful no matter what she is. It's sweet. Velvet thinks long and hard about things... and knows that if she kills Artorius, the world is saved, but if she kills Innominat........ she, Phi, and the other therions will all disappear as well. Probably best to just seal it away again. The others were watching (Eizen mentions a new compass). The next morning, Eizen got a slyphjay from the Van Eltia saying they were going to Lionel Island to rendezvous with Aifread. Eizen then informs the party that the horned daemon may be Aifread (which it so obviously is) and that it's blatantly a trap. A trap meant for us.

For some reason, Eleanor isn't in the party? Okay... and I go around hearing stupid rumors about Prince Percival being "rescued" and that "the Lord of Calamity is dead." Well, this at least gives us an avenue of attack. The Abbey keeps projecting themselves as "protectors of the people" when they're the ones exploiting everybody. It's disgusting. After hearing about the poetic Sea of No Return, I find Eleanor eyeing up ships to steal. Sweet of her. We shipjack one... no scene. You'd think there'd be drama but it seems like nobody noticed. Right before getting to the island, Eizen and Phi share a bonding moment where Eizen says Aifread is to him what Velvet is to Phi... for which Phi thanks him, because Eizen taught him that he holds the wheel of his life, and how to be a good friend to people. We see the Van Eltia at Lionel Island... well duh. They were already on their way when we stole that ship, and we had to go a LONG way. The pirates are laying unconscious or dead everywhere. Medissa, Kamoana, and Grim are all awake, and Grim says Zaveid saved them and went after Afiread. Medissa confirms it's Aifread because the letter used the Van Eltia's code.

I head into the marsh. Enemies are weak, save for the dire foe. That thing gave me enough problems for one night... so I go back to the Toitolez, get rid of some weapons I just got (they're as weak as the enemies, since the Toitolez has some Mythril), and save and end there for the night.

Okay, so firstly, to follow up from something earlier in the topic: Anime Milwaukee is letting me wear a face shield, so I'm not gonna be playing this weekend. Yes, I know Cristina Vee won't be there (possibly 2023), so I won't get to post a "VELVET" autograph in all its glory, but it'll be my first con in two years so FUCK YES!

With that out of the way...

I don't bother fighting very much here; the music gets redundant (possibly because I've heard a previous version of this track hundreds of times in Abyss already). I just trek through, taking the shortcut I opened up last time (if I missed anything, oh well). The party thinks Aifread isn't actually a daemon and is just spellbound to Melchior, making his appearance as it is now an illusion. We just have to whoop his ass and break through to him. I get to the arena - the apparently pointless dead end the last time I was here. Zaveid is winded and looking defeated, but he's not giving up: He's not fighting - he's trying to break Aifread from Melchior's dark magic. It's not working. Eizen blocks Aifread's attack on Phi... after which Eizen gives him an earful. "Going after kids now?" Aifread picks up Zaveid's evoker Siegfried and promptly attacks. The fight isn't that hard, but hey: He at least gets a Mystic Arte! Makes things better than it did against the last few big monsters I fought.

After the fight, Aifread uses his last strength to attempt to murder Phi in cold blood. Taking him as a hostage, Eizen goes into this epic monologue that includes Aifread's own line "If you can't hold something in your hand, then make a fist and take it by force!" and Eizen promptly does with an epic gut punch. This makes Aifread come to his senses... he recognizes Eizen, and is happy his friend is there for him. Phi... manages to disspell his malevolence, ending Melchior's mind control. However, Aifread... has taken more than enough damage. And, using his last strength, explains that Phi's powers stem from him being part of Innominat, and that will allow him to... seal off Innominat's domain using the four true Empyreans, thus weakening it. Aifread is sad he won't be there to help us raise hell, but... in another life, there will be another Aifread. Though Eizen will have to duel Zaveid because... Zaveid is MAD that Aifread had to die. Gotta say I kind of have a problem with this: Aifread was as hard-boiled as they come. How'd this kill him, exactly? It was only something that happened out of necessity for the plot, not because it was natural.

Back at camp, Eizen goes back to inform Benwick and the crew what happened. The rest of us ask Grim about what we need to do. Grim says that if we awaken Amenoch, any water malakhim under Innominat's control will gain their free will, and the same goes for the other Empyreans and their elements. Some of them will no longer obey exorcists, and the most weak-minded sheeple will be unable to perceive malakhim and daemonblight at all any longer. This will solve pretty much all of the world's problems, but most ESPECIALLY the monster Innominat. Things will go back to the way they were, and the Abbey will be nothing more than a fad. Grim says all we need is a soul free of malevolence... and Magilou reminds us that Velvet has eaten quite a fair share of exorcists, so she can expend those since they're already dead. Teresa and Oscar are the first two, but won't we need two more? Grim says maybe not and because DEUS EX MACHINA there's a lifepool that's a hack! That, uhh... sorry, but no. I don't like that part either. It's being brought up because the party needs a miracle. There should have been a lifepool early in the game explaining all this for later. This was only created (or reused from Zestiria) so the party can win, as opposed to them finding some other way. This occurs from earthpulse flows going vertically. There are also lifesprings, which go in the reverse direction, and since the only lifepool that's known to man has become the Empyrean's Throne, we can't use that. So we go to Mt. Killaraus - the volcano near Hellawes. The fire Empyrean should be there.

Grim is thrilled by this sheer lunacy. Seems like she hasn't had something fun happen in a few hundred years! The pirates don't seem choked up about Aifread at all - they probably had accepted it, and know that if they cried at all beyond his Viking Funeral, he'd give them an ass-whooping in the afterlife. Their hearts are eternal and we have to push on like the creed says. Good.

I stop by the Class 4 with the Katz chest just to open that. There's a scene on the ship (who sent off that slyphjay and with what?) where Rokurou expresses confidence in Kurogane even though the orchicalcum blade snapped in half, because only he could have crafted such a blade to begin with. I also must note that it's only partly the blade but also the wielder - Rokurou is letting himself get psyched out too much. We speculate about the Ceremony of Suppression but are ambushed by a horrible beacon suddenly removing human cognition almost entirely. The fuckers need to die - history is populated by evil creatures like them who want nothing more than to destroy humanity.

We wake the crew up and end up in Zeksom. Benwick describes it as "some jerk playing tug of war" with his brain. Eizen's merchant friend tries to drown himself but Eleanor tries to restrain him, after which Velvet punches him in the face. One down, several hundred thousand to go! We have to save all these people who have committed at least one sin in their lifetime (aka everyone). Even the guy who made Velvet "coo" wants to die for... taking pleasure in things? WHAT THE FUCKITY FUCK!? People can't enjoy themselves AT ALL here!? They are all zombies! Every last one. Like... this has to be one of the most inhumane and vile things I've ever seen in a game - like this is even more extreme than in Abyss. "Shepherd" is an appropriate title for Artorius - it wants to herd everyone like cattle, control which ones live and die, and... yeah. These... things... aren't human. They are evil itself. Why we didn't impale Melchior when we had the chance, I do not understand. If it dies, maybe this isn't happening so fast. I look forward to actually killing it next time, alongside its fellow fiends. Like I can't think of a single nice thing to say. They've gone past the point of being too vile to be human.

This is reinforced by an old guy along the way wanting to jump off a bridge and die, simply because he's too old to be useful to society. Another zombie releases his pets to the wild, thinking that's where they belong since they... offer no benefits so society? What the HELL!? Pets offer love and companionship and help people emotionally. The fact that the monsters think WE'RE the bad guys is insane. Sorry, but the Abbey's about to be part of history. It will be remembered like our world remembers Germany in World War II. Once we kill the vile thing known as Artorius, it will go down as the most evil man to ever live. Well, either it or Melchior. And Innominat will be akin to Satan.

I end outside Loegres for the night. This is getting too depressing to keep playing right now. I'll play more - just not right now. They can't let this go on for TOO long.

Still don't get why the party let Melchior live but killed Aifread. It makes zero sense and doesn't feel like natural writing.

I enter Loegres and everything is automated. We have transported to the worst kind of dystopia, the type where the government (Abbey) controls everything and people are executed if they diverge. This is painful. People can't enjoy themselves. People aren't allowed to be happy. It's horrifyingly depressing. A woman moans that she should never have had fantasies about Prince Percival - but where's the fun in not having lofty dreams? If we don't have dreams, we're not alive. These zombies are DYING because of these fiends. And yet apparently we're the bad guys... well, not for long. Once we stop the evil plot and proclaim to the world who the real villains were, things are gonna change. (That said, why does my Zestiria box art say Sorey is going to become Shepherd? That concerns me.)

The insanity also includes purging things like flowers and fountains, because apparently creating a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere serves no good to anyone. "Comfort is another word for vanity" INCENSES ME. SO I'M NOT ALLOWED TO BE FUCKING COMFORTABLE? IF THAT WAS THE CASE, I'D HAVE BEEN DEAD LONG AGO.

SERIOUSLY, WHERE'S ARTORIUS? I WANT TO KILL IT NOW!

Sorry. This is REALLY infuriating. These villains are some of the most vile, diabolical fiends I have ever encountered. To WANT people to suffer like this is insane, and that's putting it mildly. Tabatha's Tavern is being closed because it's too recreational. And food doesn't need flavor since it's only needed to fill the stomach. Trust me, if my food had zero taste, I'd be dead. I wish I could just kill these monsters, but instead I'm thinking about death. So is Phi. I'm with him: If food doesn't have taste, why eat?

We find Tabatha and Percival helping a crying little girl while surrounded by flying succubi. Or are they harpies? IDK. We kill one but the other two kidnap Percy and the girl. Tabatha says the bad guys are gathering people with free will at the villa, so we have to go free them and blow the place to smithereens. See how the Abbey likes that!

I stop talking to people since it makes me want to kill myself. I hope we get to kill some satanic excrement soon. The monsters in the catacombs are the weaksauce from last time, so I take the warp pad. No monsters in the villa until the room where Griffin was. The harpies are suppressing Percy and the girl in a channeling circle - it is eating their will. Velvet devours the harpies and the arte - we're heroes for saving the Prince! The girl, however... is a zombie, and says her mom was murdered by exorcists for stealing food for her hungry daughter. This totally contradicts the "EQUAL FOOD FOR ALL" earlier. What in the flying fuck is this dystopia? A feast of contradictions? What's next, a man killing himself for fucking his wife and failing to reproduce? It makes no sense to our Prince either, as he does not consent to this. We receive an official order from Percy to stop Artorius. Good. Hopefully he can publicize his condemnation of the Abbey to turn the populace against them. Hopefully.

Both Percy and Tabatha note Velvet's become more confident instead of blinded by her hatred. She wants to restore joy to the world. Eleanor does, too. Next up: Mount Killaraus. We need to awaken the Empyreans before Innominat's suppression goes global, destroy the Empyrean's Throne, kill Artorius and Melchior, and seal Innominat away. Eleanor says the exorcists she knew would hate this, because they wanted a peaceful, happy world, not this literary dystopia. And now Innominat has their will suppressed, and they accept it as tools of their demonic deity. Eleanor thanks Phi and Velvet for granting her free will and strength. This heartwarming stuff is nice since I'm not enjoying this dark and depressing stretch. Phi is depressed, too. There's no point in living if all you are is a cog. This is why I've attempted suicide before. I refuse to be a cog, so my heart is with the party. Phi's heart is strong and Magilou says no magic can amplify that strength... and there's no arte for awakening malakhim.

On the way to Hellawes, inside of Velvet... Thug Oscar and Villain Teresa are NOT happy. They says Velvet is being selfish, but I disagree. I mean... she's saving the world. They talk about being reborn and shit and all I can think of is that Oscar is reborn as Sorey. Eleanor wants to talk about what'd happen to the therions and Phi if we killed Innominat. Velvet doesn't care and just wants to take the blame for whatever happens. Would someone selfish shoulder all the blame for the evil others projected onto her? Doubtful. Eleanor thinks like I do and calls her pity party out. Nice! Velvet can only mope. Sure, she can sacrifice herself for the good of many, but she needs to think about the ones closest to her.

The devil's reach doesn't extend to Hellawes quite yet. It's TRYING but it's weak. Some are losing their memory... since memory helps people in life, they can't have it. Just how fucking demented can these villains be? Our next stop is Meirchio, the town on the other side of Faldies. It's getting colder here, so Bienfu advocates for shared bodily warmth. Sorry, not happening. Everybody is sneezing, including the daemons. I'm baffled by this. I live in Wisconsin for fuck's sake. We have our own frozen tundra, and I don't associate cold weather with sneezing. That would be cold viruses.

Yadda yadda yadda Faldies Ruins... hmmm, waking the Empyreans may solve global cooling... oh hey here's another fishing thing... time to do a good job... as if this stupid thing wasn't a sham enough, I get "the big one" on my first cast and then don't get anything else worth over 28 coins... yes I did a good job (I'm in a better place now)... a goon outside town apparently has been the lone watchman for three days for being ten minutes late to work. How's he still alive? Hypothermia is real.

This is a lovely town. The flamestone mine is the only reason it exists - and if we fling souls into the volcano, it could very well destroy it, either physically or economically. Eleanor won't blame Velvet since she isn't as heartless as the Abbey - her insanity isn't worldwide. I like Magilou's "box of stupid" remark. Might have to use that! We're gonna need more than two souls... and we waited THIS long to come to that conclusion WHY? And we didn't devour that vile vermin Melchior earlier... WHY!? Will they really anticipate this gambit? If so, then Melchior is a psychic (in addition to being a heartless bastard).

The guard was a thief, so his post is meant for him to either build character or GTFO. Instead he turns into a daemon and barrels into town. EVERYBODY PANIC! Well, the party doesn't, and since he's just a generic monster, we dispatch him swiftly. The townspeople are thankful... until Velvet reveals her identity, says she's gonna sacrifice souls into the volcano, and dares the Abbey's legates to stop us. This is quite brilliant, and Magilou is RELISHING in it. I mean, seriously, this:
1. Scares everybody out of town to mitigate casualties if the volcano goes kablooie.
2. Advertises the plan to the Abbey, so they can hand us the souls we need to sacrifice.
3. Shows people that Velvet is not going after anyone while the Abbey is zombifying everyone. Proof enough for anyone thinking rationally about who the good guys are.

Velvet smacks Magilou for talking about slurping bone marrow... and a WILD BENWICK APPEARS!? The whole crew is here to take the place over!? Kamoana thought Eleanor had died and Kurogane has a blade for Rokurou. This will be our last respite before the Scarlet Night, when we get to kill two fuckers, shove the Empyreans' into Innominat, and forever cleanse the land of this villainy. It's gonna be sweet!

...but that will have to wait until another time. This is a good place to stop for tonight.

For the record, the details I was talking about having been missed at the beginning of the game were the ones that led to you believing that Artorius was creating a false calamity that he could fix and therefore ascend to a position of glory... Unless I missed something on my multiple playthroughs, because I never had that impression of the man and never got a hint that I was ever supposed to.

It's been a while, but I don't really think the player is meant to have any real idea what his intentions and reasons are at all for most of the game, outside of the deliberately vague propaganda he spews for most of his screen time. It's not until the earthpulse memory events that we ever get any kind of complete picture of him, when it turns out that he's a man of uncommonly strong convictions in a world that has a heavy inclination to break people like that. He truly loved Celica and would have truly loved their son had he been born - that's something else that I don't think was ever supposed to be in question. Nothing that happens in the narrative prior to his sacrifice of Laphi was his fault.

Melchior is, to me, the true villain of the game, in taking advantage of that broken man at his worst hour. It's never brought up or even implied specifically, but I feel like you're supposed to be suspicious that he was even directly responsible for the malevolence outbreak that led to Celica's death, engineered for the specific purpose of molding Artorius into what he becomes, but even if he wasn't, he feeds the man a mountain of BS to set him on the path he takes from that point forward. Either way, Artorius is just another victim, another example of someone becoming what the world makes him.

I don't know, maybe that plays better with some knowledge of Zestiria, because their shared world is exceptionally bleak and vicious and depressing even by the standards of most JRPGs all things considered, and at the end of the day I don't think of Artorius as any sort of top-tier antagonist even with the added context. But I do think there are important distinctions to be made as far as what happenings in the plot he's actually responsible for. For one thing, it shouldn't go unnoticed that Velvet herself uses some deductive logic in the prologue that's disturbingly similar to the Abbey's detached brand of reason, and added to the fact that she was probably at least a little bit in love with him during that time it's not a stretch to imagine that in any timeline where Arthur doesn't kill her brother there's a nonzero chance she becomes one of his most ardent supporters at least for a while.

Which brings me to my next point - you've hit the part in the story where it starts to suffer juuuust a tad for me. The Abbey steams their crazy locomotive straight off the deep end with the Suppression, and it's a shame, because I think the conflict would be more interesting if they didn't take that last step into being wholly, irredeemably evil. The rest of the game has at least some shades-of-gray writing based on the facts that Velvet's group does some pretty bad stuff and that some of the Abbey's very basic principles are not without merit if they weren't taken to such extremes. But that all gets thrown out the window for the sake of having a much cleaner delineation of the good guys and bad guys, which I think is to the detriment of the game as a whole and Velvet's character arc. It doesn't ruin things by any means - Berseria is a top 10 (or at the very least, 15) game of all time for me and Velvet landed at #7 in my giant series character ranking - but I do think some potential was missed.

On a completely different note, you said that "Melchior is torturing Magilou [on the Hexen Isle] instead of killing her like a smarter villain," and I want to clarify that that's not what was happening. Melchior couldn't get past her. All that torture, the repeated shattering of her heart and so forth, was him trying to take down her defenses long enough to seal the rest of the group away. No wasting of time, no attempts to cause excess pain; Melchior is pulling out every stop he's able to and she still manages to hold him off. Just felt the need to clear that up because your understanding does a bit of a disservice to Melchior's cleverness and, much more importantly, to what I think is the single most badass scene in the entire Tales franchise.

I love her "hype man" moment in Meirchio so much, too. When the Berseria cast is firing on all cylinders, there aren't too many better ones.

I don't aim to play long tonight since I want to get up early tomorrow to get to AMKE (only doing Saturday/Sunday because of budget).

Kurogane is... turning himself into a sword? How is this possible? I take it he'll be a sword spirit of sorts, sorta like a certain awful Zelda game. Rokurou had one last drink with him, but Velvet thinks he's heartless that he'd sacrifice a friend to kill his brother. He really wants his jerk brother dead that bad, eh? At the very least, Shigure is the only human we're up against, in addition to a devil and otherworldly fiends. Velvet's not one to judge - and Rokurou reminds her that her emotions are all human, and make her a complete person. Artorius would NOT approve... even though Shigure, his henchman, is like that too. Velvet and Phi both admire Rokurou's unwavering determination. I do too, and wish I could figure out a way to... never mind.

The auroras here make for a brilliant backdrop. If only it wasn't cloudy here every damn time AccuWeather told me about some cool phenomenon happening in the sky... I swear, it feels like I'm cursed, because I want to see that stuff. I find Eleanor playing hide-and-seek with Kamoana, which Bienfu promptly ruins by ratting out the kid's location. There are multiple accusations of cheating and Eleanor proclaims it's strategy to use Bienfu's cheating to her advantage. This really feels like Calvinball, especially once Dyle is "it." Eleanor says she'll find a way for everyone to be happy, even if it takes her millennia... makes me think this comes to play in Zestiria.

Eizen got a Toitolez-mail... from his sister. A rarity. She seems to want to meet the rest of our band of misfits because they're "appropriate" for her brother. I have a feeling I am going to meet her. It works to have that serve as an introduction to Zesty. But that's later, before the final battle with Artorius and Innominat (I hope I'll have an opening to get to Yseult and find those Blue Nor Dolls). Medissa stops Velvet on the way to the inn to tell her she can't put Kamoana's fate on the line, and Velvet doesn't give a damn. Phi sneezez - is there a bug going around? - and puts their squabble on hold. Phi is still resisting the idea of bathing with females, so he refrains from the hot spring. What, did seeing Eleanor's bazongas scar him for life? Magilou was going to join Velvet but something beckons her from afar. Eh? Now?

I then get a scene where Magilou comes to talk peacefully to her monstrous mentor Melchior. Melchior doesn't deny everything that our plan will do, but thinks that daemonblight is still a threat for whatever reason. Sorry, but YOU'RE a bigger threat to the populace. Melchior keeps trying to talk Magilou out of it after her rant about how it's going to completely change the planet - which I presume is why the land is so different in Zestiria, and why so many cities don't survive. It only occurs to me now that Magilou is related to Melchior - probably because I'd forgotten "Mayvin" being Melchior's last name since it wasn't really utilized much, and nor was it for Magilou. Magilou calls the bastard's ideal world "boring" and I am loving it. Though I'd probably call it "Hellish" myself, though I'd kill myself the moment it became reality. Melchior continues to spout its nonsensical delusions, thinking it's a world of purity. No, it's a world of suffering. Have you ever read dystopian fiction? Pretty much EVERY. FUCKING. FUTURE. in those books is all about people being controlled and suppressed... and those people are dead inside. That is not purity. That is malevolence. Eizen and Rokurou show up as backup, though there's no salvaging this monster's beliefs. It agrees to duel us atop the volcano, as arrogant as ever. For some reason he makes sure not to step on the flowers on the way out. Perhaps Magilou actually,,, made sense to it?

I get an AMV that's quite precious. It switches between heartwarming and dark like an on/off switch. Phi is embarrassed about something... bazonagas, maybe? And Velvet asks him to comb her hair (which is really beautiful, like Phi says - she just needs to cut a little off so it doesn't touch the ground). Malevolence emanating from her, she talks about how it'd be nice to start over, cooking quiches for him all the time and living life the way she wanted to at the start of it all. Phi wants to master the silver flame so he can make her human again once it's all over. But it's too late. She's willing to sacrifice so many... and she just knows she'll die if she kills Innominat. I'd think the boy's powers are the only way out, but it's very apparent that one of them is gonna die at the end of all this (the fact that this is an AMV corroborates that). He says he hates being called "Phi" because it's too childish and cutesy, and that Velvet doesn't understand boys at all. I am torn between referring to him as Phi because there's still Laphi, y'know? Even though they both hate that, it does distinguish them. And things pick back up from there, and they share a good bonding moment. It's sweet.

The party fetches us to inform that Melchior is here, and we exit to the Scarlet Night. We get the typical Tales pep talk before what the party mistakenly thinks is the final confrontation thing, and we're on our way! In town, I find out about another Class 4 (now?) and talk to Grim where the party somehow pieces together which therion had which type of malevolence, most of which make no sense to me. Artorius apparently fostered despair within Velvet for three years because that can't be created overnight, so perhaps we don't need to worry about this last therion. Perhaps because Grim is worried that Melchior may be receptive to Innominat, especially because of how morally corrupt he is. We need pure souls, not purely impure souls. This could be what causes chaos, and why this is a fake ending.

I get a scene with Medissa and Kamoana, there the kid reassures the adult that everything is going to be okay. Medissa is worried about the fate of the world in this battle and what will happen afterward, not being able to imagine. She's also no longer a believer in Innominat, because of how it strips feelings from those who pray to him. Good that she's realized she was worshiping a great evil. Eleanor wants to save them however possible. Laphicet is even willing to give himself up to seal Innominat... and calls Rokurou's bluff by saying he's a "selfish, wicked little boy." Well, people are selfish by nature. We don't do anything if we receive no benefit. Even charity work - people do it to satisfy their souls because it feels good. You can be selfish and selfless at the same time. That's being human. So is eavesdropping, Eleanor. Velvet makes a good point: No matter how selfish you are, life's empty without anyone to share it with. This is what I'm lacking. I need... a companion.

There's steam coming from the ice since there's hot springs underneath. Magilou doesn't want to fall in and Eizen asks why she cares so much - because she's apathetic about apathy! I find a Code Red and... yeeesh, THIS FUCKING THING. It has but 1224 HP but it blocks everything, with a slight reflection rate. I can't touch it. I try different weapons, different characters... nada. I give up and head back to the Bloodwings. "When white warps, black is true" is all I get. I didn't see anything of the sort in this Spectral Crystal fight (I was trying to observe its attack patterns but... nothing changed), so this isn't referring to what I want it to refer to.

I finish up a little equipment management before stopping for the night. I'll next play on Monday - see you then!

Oh, there was a trick to that guy? What I did was cook something with a damage nullification effect and then put the three guys in the party and just waited for them to kill with the reflect nullified damage skill.

I haven't figured out the trick yet. I can't get off a Mystic Arte and nothing seems to be working. I looked over the Arte list and didn't see anything that could nullify enemy resistances.

I may have to click on that spoiler tag. But I want to try and figure this out. I may be overthinking this and am missing something simple...

It was so nice being back on the con train again! Felt good to be doing that again. I had fun, but the only real piece of info relevant to this is that Erica Lindbeck is actually as dramatic as Magilou (per Mela Lee). No freakin' wonder she got cast for that part. A really understated thing in gaming is just how much the voice acting for a character matters for their reception - change the VA and suddenly people don't buy the character. It's no different from live acting in much of any regards tbh.

Business time. I have no idea what the heck I'm doing against this thing. No items can do the job. And trying to attack ITS attacks to whack it back into it doesn't work. I finally spoiled myself with what you did, Mewtwo... so the nullified damage thing works? It wasn't working for me when I tried it. Didn't go the cooking route, though, because I didn't even realize that damage nullification was possible that way (I have no recipe aside from a "All damage reduced by 20" but that's nullifying. I have Laphicet cook with the 5% nonelemental damage boost. I then equip Eleanor with GOBS of damage-reflector skills since she has the most to stack - "Reflect 27% of nullified damage" looks snazzy, so I go into battle and...

Nothing happens. I still don't do a single hit point of damage to this mothertfucker. I look it up and find out that this Void Ring I found out of place was HERE (I'd thought it was in town because my mind has been elsewhere lol), so I give that to Eleanor and I go back and mess with it and... it dies. Instantly. Wut. I had thought "reduction" and "nullification" were two different things, but there ya go. All without screwing with the difficulty. (And believe me, I'd tried the damage reflection before but it did nothing. Perhaps because I didn't stack things the way I could have. Ah well. I KILLED IT AND GET HARDERER DIFFICULTIES NOW!

I get a skit about the Scarlet Night - superstitions and facts, the latter including mana overflowing from earthpulses when the moon is in a certain position. Eizen thinks Rokurou may be right about humanity's bloodshed spilling into earthpulses and thus being part of the mana. Doesn't change that it looks cool, even if creepy. I'd enjoy these kinds of things in real life if it wasn't cloudy every time AccuWeather told me one was occurring... like seriously, that happens at least 90% of the time with those.

After saving, I spend the rest of my time adjusting to Chaos, but none of that matters because I run into a Dire Foe that wipes the floor with me. Definitely still have adjustments to make. I didn't lose too much, thankfully.

At the higher cooking levels they get a percent chance to nullify damage, as an additional effect with whatever the recipe does. Velvet gets a 20% reduction on damage over 1000 instead, so if you've only leveled Velvet's cooking level, you won't have the nullification effect. It only has a 5 or 15% chance based on what your cooking level is, so it's possible you got unlucky, or you picked a recipe that you couldn't activate in that fight (since it only takes effect while the food bonus is in effect).

I have been leveling everyone's cooking equally - as in rotating who gets to go up a few levels until I remember to change it. They're all at levels 11 to 14 right now. I used Laphicet's 5% reduction for normal-type damage with a Status Effect prevention item. Once somebody got paralyzed, it triggered. And that stacked on top of the Void Ring and existing skill so it was like 13% reflection. Perhaps part of the problem was that there wasn't enough damage being reflected before...

No real updates tonight. I did get a skit (triggered by Velvet's Quiche recipe) with Eleanor saying she doesn't like spinach because of sale'tomah... and then throws this ridiculous corporate acronym "Supporting Peers IN Achieving Cohesive Harmony" and blames the others for failing at "synergy." Apparently this corporate method (I mean, where else would you see such a hokey acronym?) is used by Eizen and his crew and he just ran a lecture on it last night... which is why he didn't get to some report Eleanor asks for (about what?). She then proceeds to lecture them like a schoolmarm:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/9/0/AAR0ZFAAC7mG.jpg

Welp, I'm scared. *runs*

Also during this skit I notice a little disguised reference to a meme from ancient times:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/9/1/AAR0ZFAAC7mH.jpg

Or maybe it was just a typo... but I'd prefer to think this was a deliberate reference to how epic the Interwebs once were. They need to do way instain mother> who kill thier babbys. becuse these babby cant frigth back?

But yeah, that's it. All my playtime tonight was devoted to the following:
1. Beating up a few enemies to get adjusted to Chaos mode
2. Collecting Katz Souls to open that chest before this area gets coated in lava
3. Running from Dire Foes
4. Dying
5. Weapons management

...you can see this has been a struggle. I'm enjoying it being a struggle. About damn time. Maybe I can actually get somewhere next time. Probably will. #4 above was the biggest obstacle. At least there were no Game Overs, but man did I have a lot of slugfest battles.

"Next time" will probably not be tomorrow jsyk. Thursday will work.

It might be a reference, but you're about to get to the part of the game where typos in skits become a regular occurance, so I can't say for sure.

Sounds like they ran out of money and just rushed the last part of the game out. It's not as bad as Legendia with the voice acting, at least (from what I've heard).

I enter the volcano and, after Velvet trolls Magilou saying there's no plan to escape the eruption (LOL), Laphicet doesn't seem to think that the volcano will erupt because of an earthpulse. Eizen thinks that the Empyreans might be angry enough that it's a possibility. The shift in the earth is likely gradual, with only a few immediate effects like that. It's like continents change course, the climate starts warming up instead of cooling off... those kinds of things that change the land over time. Very curious to see what's still around in Zestiria and what isn't.

Two of my first encounters inside the caverns are a chain encounter and the Dire Foe. Both go pretty well actually, though the latter was a LONG fight. And then I get into another chain encounter and die in a matter of seconds (a little ways into the fight, everyone just... dies I mean. Against BATS!).

The fuck. So much for making any progress tonight.

Yeah, those bats are brutal, especially in a chain encounter.

I re-enter the cave and dispatch a chain encounter handily - even with bats. I run into the Dire Foe and notice Magilou sitting in the corner, losing her religion:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/0/3/AAR0ZFAAC83j.jpg

After I take down the Dire Foe (despite Velvet being dead at the end of it whoops), the advantage encounters are suddenly super easy. But the others... still not so. And then I run into the Dire Foe again and go all berserk (get it?) on it, including SOMEHOW getting off Annihilating Crash despite its guarding:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/0/4/AAR0ZFAAC83k.jpg

THAT was a great screengrab. It legit looks like a Phoenix. I win this fight too - though it's a close call. There was also a chain encounter not too long after that which was brutal, especially once Eleanor subbed out for Rokurou and he died almost immediately. I note while Velvet's just corpse-like with ONE enemy left that Rokurou is just falling back and being useless. Perhaps it's an AI problem since his strategy is set to "Close Combat" and "Aggressive." This is why Rokurou isn't in my party like ever. His equipment isn't upgraded but he's learning skills, at least - that I haven't forgotten. But he's falling back too much when I, as Velvet, am whacking everything in sight and comboing like a madwoman. It's been true in this stupid cave.

Magilou starts overdramatizing her freezing in this cave, and Velvet threatens to leave her behind if she turns into an icicle. This interaction perfectly describes these two. I mean, Magilou is the one who shouts "READY, STEADY... EN FUEGO!" and "Is it hot, or is it just me?" in battles all the time so she could maybe light something under her ass. I have yet another Dire Foe encounter and yet another Rokurou substitution where he's dead before I even notice.

At least he makes up for it as a character, because he's ALSO a troll and asks Laphicet what bathing with Velvet was like. Uhhh... you DO realize he's her nephew... RIGHT? Seems like it might've been a test: He didn't want to go in because he doesn't want to be treated like a little kid, and thus he wants to respect Velvet's privacy. And he shouldn't be, because he certainly acts very mature. Rokurou... needed the laughs, because he's feeling tense about facing Shigure. We don't even know if Shigure is actually here, though. Melchior sure is, and he'd probably insist on being the only one so Velvet's plan would fail. Like... did it not occur to the party that the bad guys might've been anticipating this, so they only sent one legate?

We exit to a pass. There could be a flanking attack, but Rokurou assures us that Shigure is ahead. Riiiight. Why did we not see him, yet keep having him mentioned so much? A surprise is coming. For me... it was the sheer amount of monsters and the subsequent game over I got fighting a chain encounter in this mess. YUCK. At the very least, I have a quick save mid-dungeon, so I only lost like 45 minutes of progress as opposed to the entire night. I'll rectify this tomorrow.

Enjoying this harder difficulty because it's making me at least work to win battles. Shame there's like zero strategy still.

I think the problem with Rokurou backing off is that his AI is set for him to back off once he's below 25% HP. It works the same for everyone else, but you're controlling Velvet and Laphicet/Eizen/Magilou/Eleanor all have healing spells that they'll use on themselves once they fall under that threshold rather than just sitting back away from battle. I can't remember if there's anything more aggressive than "Agressive", but if it exists, try setting Rokurou to that. Just be prepared for him to die a lot.

I'll try playing around with that. I'm presuming I'll be required to use him against Shigure, whenever that may be.

The lack of healing spells is a valid reason for him to be the weakest character, especially on AI. He should have at least been given Focus for self-healing, but alas. And I don't want him to abuse the item supply, though I only ever need gels against Fire Does.... I mean Dire Foes, not flaming deer (keeping what my phone said, xD).

Gotta wonder how Velvet works on AI. She's probably just as bad as Rokurou, but she's less clunky to control. Playing as a pure spellcaster is boring and unintuitive with this battle system, and that's all you can do as Magilou. Laphicet and Eizen are more hybrids but work best when slinging spells, though I haven't used them since early on so I should try that. Eleanor is actually kind of fun to play as - she's the only other I could see myself using. I just need to figure out the loadout. Rokurou is usable but may take getting used to.

I almost always use the MC exclusively in tales games, but beseria encourages swapping out and i tried it with everyone a couple times to get a feel. Eleanor was definitely the second most fun for me, after velvet of course

Yeah, other Tales games really don't encourage swapping like this. I use whoever I have the most fun controlling. Like I play a mean battlemage Tear in Abyss and have loads of fun with Leia in the Xillias. But those aside I tend to use the protagonists.

I get back where I was just fine, and take care of a chain encounter without any issues... well I do need one Life Bottle, but still. I wonder if anyone legitimately believed they were about to face the final boss in here, because there's no fucking way the game is going to end here lol

I enter the next cave and things change from very cold to very hot. We're inside the volcano itself... that's quite the adjustment. I go forward toward a lump in the middle of an area that turns out to be Shigure, drinking sake with his malak cat. Surprised they're killing him off so unceremoniously, and alone. I don't have Rokurou in my party - I couldn't tell WHAT that was. Rokurou for some reason gives his sword to Shigure, who recognizes the sword as Kurogane himself. I don't have an explanation for any of this. One, why does Rokurou trust his thug of a brother? Two, how did Shigure figure that out so fast? And three, why does Shigure give the blade right back? One would think that Shigure would expect Rokurou to uphold bushido here and Melchior would be like "lol no you're gonna kill him or you're fired."

I gotta say it... this Rokurou vs. Shigure duel was not set up that well. We had a couple scenes before but that was it. The one at the port way back. The fight in the Titania lobby. Rokurou explaining why he wants to beat Shigure. If they'd worked overtime to put in an actual flashback to when Rokurou lost to Shigure, I would have more eagerly been anticipating this. The game never gave me any reason to think of Shigure as anything more than "Rokurou's obstacle." All he does is get in the way.

Kitty was apparently restraining Shigure so he could improve via training. He tells Kitty to release his bindings and he enters SUPER SAIYAN MODE. Well, shit. I don't have that! I control Rokurou for this and, uh, it doesn't go well. Shigure slices and dices him like salad ingredients. His Mystic Arte is pretty freaking cool because it goes to him and Rokurou squaring off - for once it's legit plot integrated! It does do damage, but not much. This is the game incentivizing you to play as Rokurou here given how badly it goes when Rokurou is KOed. Which happens a lot. But hey, it's a fun fight, and afterward, there's a crazily well animated cutscene where the two cross blades... and Rokurou flings Shigure's Stornhowl into the sky so he can draw Kurogane's blade for the kill.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/9/8/AAR0ZFAAC9Iq.jpg

This is EPIC. Like... THAT is how you kill off a bad guy. His dying wish is to let his kitty go free. I'd oblige on the condition that said kitty does not interfere with us. As he bleeds out, he:

1. Says he was planning of leaving the village because he had no interest in living the life of a chained dog
2. He wishes Artorius could smile, because then he'd be a lot happier... which is interesting. Is Artorius so apathetic toward everything that he wants everyone to feel that way? What a bastard.
3. Stops breathing, and Rokurou gives the word to let Velvet consume him. His blade found its mark.

Velvet tells Rokurou he can leave if he wants, but he still feels he owes her a debt (though he's more than paid it by now). Morgrim the Kitty wants to stay a little longer, because Shigure hated to be alone, and she appreciates him for letting her have free will. Shigure may have been working for the absolute scum that is Melchior, but he wasn't a bad guy at all. Note how I still acknowledge his humanity. Rokurou admits to Laphicet that he started the rumors that Shigure was planning a coup, so he could strike him down. Seems young Rokurou was the jealous type. I don't blame him. Having five older brothers will do that. He doesn't care about leadership of the clan - and he's a daemon so they wouldn't want him anyway - but he does care about beating his brother. Complex characterization here.

Eleanor is crying about the match, and Rokurou tells her it's nothing to cry about - samurai never wear emotions like Eleanor does, after all. This helps her realize that Shigure was having fun with the fight, and Eleanor realizes that Rokurou will have more matches like that when swordsmen train their butts off to kick his ass. He's also craving some yozakura animitsu, which is one of the most Japanese-sounding foods I can imagine. Paste and rice of some kind?

As Magilou complains about the heat, Melchior looks down upon us from the summit, taunting us with its arrogance. It also says that we need all four souls to awaken all four Empyreans, and that's the only way to prevent the volcano from erupting. I'd think this bastard would know. Magilou has one word for this: "Trap." She wants to lure him into the fire, because he's an ice mage. Velvet picks this of all times to ask Magilou her relation to Melchior, and Mags says her full name is Magillanica Lou Mayvin - Melchior's foster daughter and disciple. A light bulb goes off in Eleanor's head that Magilou... is a legate. But she was cast out because she was to Melchior what Velvet is to Artorius - a great comparison that everyone else can understand. Velvet doesn't care about Magilou wanting to settle her score. Velvet does what she wants, and Magilou does too. This is why this party is great.

Magilou complains about the heat again because she runs as warm as I do. I too heat up quickly and cool down slowly. This Hot-N-Cold sorta thing is either scorzing or freeching, whichever you want it to be. Velvet has gotten good at trolling Magilou back. The whole gang trolls her with food for... whatever reason. I'm hungry. At any rate, the Scarlet Night goes on forever, even as I return to Meirchio to take care of equipment management and replenish my empty stock of Life Bottles. This takes a while.

Seems chain encounters are much tougher than the Dire Foe. The latter is easy when chaining water and non-elemental attacks while constantly Break Souling to ensure Velvet doesn't die. That 1 HP thing REALLY comes in handy so long as you can keep your soul count up. And it seems like the Fire Doe is more susceptible to getting stunned or poisoned than before. I end at the midpoint of the volcano, getting back to where I started.

Also: @NBIceman , I don't remember reading your post above. WHOOPS! Definitely missed that since you posted it while I was playing and I had the con the next day. A few replies:
-Artorius creating a calamity that he could then solve to be a hero was what I interpolated as his motive. Now I only believe the hero part. Celica's sacrifice was an accident. That caused a desire to be the hero who "solved daemonblight" - but it could have Melchior's manipulation (despite them knowing each other beforehand?). But he never created a calamity. The Scarlet Night and the cross in the sky that were emblazoned into my head so it was natural to connect those dots. Because of this... Artorius is kind of a meh villain for me too. Velvet admired him and I do agree in a different timeline, she's the henchwoman that Eleanor was. I don't remember her logical deductions since that was a long time ago for me.
-Melchior is indeed the true villain, because it manipulated Artorius and used him as a puppet figurehead, tried to pin the blame on daemons when everything was its doing, probably caused "unfortunate accidents," created a fake Aball to trap Velvet, thought it was the hero despite all this, and, most importantly, murdered thousands of people and took away any reason for anyone else to live. It is a monster. It is not human.
-Which leads me to your point about the Abbey being so irredeemably evil. I agree that defining so clearly who is good and who is evil goes against the previous themes where you questioned whether Velvet was in the right or not. That helped make the narrative compelling, and for the Abbey to turn out to be some of the most vile villains I have ever encountered threw it all out the window. It became clear who the true calamity is, and that's Melchior.
-This world is indeed bleak and depressing compared to other JRPGs I've played. Vesperia is the exact opposite of this in that, aside from Capua Nor, it's... just a bright and airy place where you can do anything. That makes for a boring game. This doesn't.
-Thanks for clearing up the Hexen Isle scene. It was hard to tell that he was actually pulling out all the stops and she was strong enough to resist those artes. I thought that given the thing's track record, you'd think he could have gone "Avada Kedavra!" and boom. That, in retrospect, makes Magilou an even BIGGER badass.
-And yes, Berseria's cast is awesome. There are six equally developed members of it who all interact like they're real.

I didn't want to spoil it, so it's a good thing you used Rokurou in the Shigure fight. Shigure actually has two Mystic Artes, one with Rokurou in the active party, and one without him in the active party. It's the same thing, except Rokurou blocks it if he's in the party, so it's worth it to keep him around and alive just for that.

Yeah, Shigure used the one sans Rokurou when Rokurou was lying on the ground, and Shigure was like "GET THE FUCK UP BRO" like he wanted more. Not my fault that Rokurou isn't very good defensively in a typical fight, but he helped hugely by blocking Shigure's Mystic the three other times, taking paltry damage.

Again, I was anticipating that I HAD to use him in that fight, because that was the most prominent part of Rokurou's story. I don't think it's exactly the same with Melchior. Magilou and Eizen both have strong grudges against it for its many sins, and forced use of two party members is a bit much. They're both in my regular party alongside Velvet and Eleanor so it's not like it's a big deal.

Also, from using him, Rokurou kind of does have Focus as his Break Soul, but... that's a Break Soul. Not exactly helpful with healing. An arte would be better.

Please note: For the next several days, my playing will be inconsistent. However, I am setting a firm deadline to finish this thing off: I'm taking a vacation starting on the 8th, so I wanna finish this before that time. Obvious reasons.

New enemies in this area, and they're tough. I get into an absolutely brutal chain encounter that uses up most of my Life Bottles, and then because this world sucks a fucking FIRE DOE SHOWS UP after I clear the field.

Fuck me.

I actually manage to kill it even though my Mystic Artes weren't going off for some reason (yes, I had enough BP). I don't know how, but I went back and saved right after lol.

The Mystic Arte glitch continues into the Code Red fight, which I find odd. In regular battles, I also can't get Annihilating Crash off even with the usual combos. I'm not doing anything different. Is it just this area? (Also weird: The enemies are resistant to... wind? And not fire? WTF?)

I get a skit where Laphicet agrees with Velvet that she's gotten stronger, but he goes so far as to say she's "changed." I don't really notice much of a difference between the Velvet of the early game and the Velvet of now. She's just battle-hardened, that's it. A "change" means there's something different. JRPGs seem to use that word a little too liberally. "Grown" may be the better way to put it, because that means something that existed has matured.

I finally start getting Annihilating Crash off, including in a fight against a hundred Blood Heat Bat.s They just kept COMING!

Magilou explains that Melchior is the "shadow" of the Abbey - the one doing the dirty work behind the scenes, so behind that only the top brass knew what was going on and not even Eleanor. Magilou also says she was being groomed to be Melchior's successor, to aid Artorius with behind-the-scenes manipulative shit once the old monster kicked the bucket. She wasn't the right choice to lead them, so she was fired... and the gang is glad, because Magilou is very unpredictable, and would be a much tougher player to go up against than something whose plans can be inferred like Melchior. It's weird how this vile piece of detritus hasn't succumbed to malevolence because of its belief in the exorcists... or is that just a front? Wouldn't surprise me to see that thing be a hypocrite.

Magilou mentions that Melchior is a crafty old bastard who won't fight us head-on. Our odds are grim since he's a trickster who could take all six of us at once and still win, and Eizen thinks the answer may be right at our feet. Perhaps we just fling him into the volcano and Velvet just rams the other souls after his? Also... I gotta wonder what transpired between Melchior and Shigure for them to just be in separate places. Maybe Shigure was like "No, I am going to wait here, and I am going to face my brother." It's quite stupid that they didn't team up, but it's not like fighting two of them would have been impossible since they'd be nerfed.

An idea that randomly occurred to me about the storytelling downturn would have been if we killed Artorius BEFORE the whole brainwashing thing took place. Melchior revealed itself to be the puppet master and was thus the final boss and true main antagonist. It would have satisfied Velvet's thirst for revenge, but she'd also want to kill Melchior after it enacted its plan to bring the world to ruin. This would make it much more of a gray area whether or not Velvet was in the right to want to eradicate Artorius, especially if the game showed that he resisted Melchior's ideals. Do you think that would have been an improvement? It would've been intriguing to kill off the supposed Big Bad with a quarter of the game left.

I have a VERY CLOSE CALL with the Dire Foe, so I gotta go all the way back to town once I get to the exit since I'm all out of Life Bottles. A big no-no when you're facing a motherfucker like Melchior would be to not have any resurrection items, since I presume it has a Mystic Arte that can knock multiple characters out at once. Gotta go stock up, so I do. Here's hoping I can warp back that way since I used the save point. If not, at least I have the hoverboard... which I need to use in that area I couldn't earlier anyhow.

I manage my weapons for like 15 minutes... geez, this is excessive, but I gotta do it since it's the poison I picked by playing on Chaos mode. I need these to be upgraded. And then I stop, because I'm tired and I will finish this tomorrow.

Okay, finally sitting down to play. Been in a funk on top of being busy.

After I blah blah blah weapons management, I blah blah blah take the hoverboard into a room at only has Katz Souls and a freakin' Grape Gel (was expecting this to potentially have something to help beat Melchior) and blah blah blah fight the Fire Doe. I blah blah blah make it back to the end despite there being no warp pad there, but it's kind of a slog despite me avoiding encounters until, well, I have a close call and realize I might wanna fight a couple more things. I do a couple chain encounters - one has like eight Lizardfolk Paladins, and the other is endless bats - but win those just fine, unlike the start of this place. The real issue is the Lava Atlas golems. Those things are scary.

Here, look at how crowded it's getting:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/8/0/AAR0ZFAAC-U8.jpg

All in a little corner!

I make sure I didn't miss anything - wouldn't be ideal to come back here after this place blows, now would it? There's no way there'd be all these Katz souls and a crap ton of valuable items (Rough gemstones, Fine Tempering Powders, Topaz Fragments, Gold Scraps, etc.) if it stayed intact, even among the excessive amounts of Ore Fragments and Flamestones.

I approach Melchior and it starts some diatribe about why we haven't stopped to think about what waking the Empyreans would do. Says the monster who doesn't want people to think about anything. Like... what the fuck is this logic? The one who upset the balance of nature is YOU, Melchior. When Velvet says she doesn't care, Melchior levies its insults thinking we're the villains. It also says that the Empyreans sleep because people stopped praying to them, and that corrupted their souls. This confuses me further. If you wanted to stop corruption, why didn't you explain that to the masses so they could start praying to the Empyreans again? WHY did you have to resort to murdering thousands and ruining the entire point of life? And then it says why: It wants to rid the world of malevolence to revive the Empyreans, and it's using Innominat to eat vile souls or whatever. Is it including itself? Because it's by far the most monstrous of all the souls in this world, and it confirms this by saying civilization will crumble, and it doesn't much care. This thing is a hypocrite. It wants to be at the top so the Abbey can rule in a "better" era. Well, tell that to Vlad "The Impaler II" Putin. Melchior is no different than a very current real-world villain, and its plan will not end up working out the way it thinks it will.

It shows its true form and we start fighting it. It has a strong Mystic Arte, but it's not really much of a problem and it seems to think it's because of its age. Magilou says it's used some kind of oath to add centuries to its life... ergo, cheating death. Further confirmation that it isn't human. Wretched monsters throughout history have faces like Melchior. The ones who have wronged the most people. Melchior talks about its idealism nonsense, not realizing how it prioritizes its distorted goals at the cost of trouncing upon everyone else's. Truly a vile creature.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/8/1/AAR0ZFAAC-U9.jpg

Further obsessing over winning, it conjures duplicates of all of us as a diversion so it can use some arte upon the volcano. The party just stands there instead of knocking the monster in... but as it says it "follows reason" (LMAO, no you don't, you follow your FUCKING EGO), Magilou conjures the flowers from earlier as a distraction and Velvet lurches forward to consume the daemon's soul, just as many times before. In its last breaths, Melchior spurts more "HOW DARE YOU" nonsense... and, well, it got off easily. I wish I could have done MANY more things to it. It deserved MUCH worse than it got, because its "ideals" were at the cost of so much to so many. And its hero complex worsened it all. Truly a thing I cannot say a nice thing about. The whole REASON we had to awaken the Empyreans was because of Melchior. IT is the one who will go down as having caused this imbalance in nature solely for the sake of its "ideals." Seriously, fuck you, scumbag.

AMV time! Velvet flings the souls into the volcano, waking the four Empyreans and summoning some kind of space station. In Loegres, the zombies start waking the fuck up. Some malakhim tell the exorcists to go fuck themselves for using them as tools and buzz off. Good for them! The Abbey is now in a state of panic. This is bad for us, because their panic centers around us, so they're going to use every resource they can.

The next morning, Velvet thanks Magilou for growing flowers to distract the old bag, thus saving everybody. Maybe Melchior shouldn't have fired her. She knew its weakness was flowers, and that it loved flowers more than humanity. Which probably explains why it did what it did, not caring about people. Heartless bastard still had SOMETHING. The skit diverts to Eizen and Laphicet confirming that the Four have awoken and Innominat has been pushed out from the earthpulses. Magilou adds that greater resonance will diminish so people won't be able to see malakhim or daemons like they could, and the former will gain their free will. The Abbey's forces will drop significantly, making them a much weaker foe. Eleanor cracks a joke in regards to being able to see everyone, including Magilou LOL. Laphicet says that Innominat and Artorius are somewhere above the Empyrean's Throne - that space station. We have to kill them.

A brief skit explains changes in the land that would previously have taken eons will now take a few hundred years. This is to reference how different everything is in Zestiria, I'd imagine. Magilou doesn't care what happens when we kill Innominat, but Eleanor and Velvet sure do. Eizen also wants to kill Innominat and Artorius and everyone supporting the Abbey and its ideals, because he wants to eradicate Melchior's philosophy of destroying free will, in order to avenge Aifread. Works for me. The fewer dirtbags this world has to deal with, the better. Artorius and Innominat/Laphi are both the dirtiest of the bags who are left. There's a fun hungriness skit from after the event (Magilou's stomach rumbling hahahaha). Last skit is about Bienfu being helpful with the hoverboard, building muscles and exhausting him. He continues his shameless shtick:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/8/2/AAR0ZFAAC-U-.jpg

She takes the bait and uses it against him, and it's hilarious how she puts him in so much pain for hitting on her like that. AGAIN. I do take it that it still counts as "Physically Escalating with Cuties."

I get back to town and the crew's still here, as are the Bloodwings. The agent in charge says that the people of Meirchio tried to petition the Abbey to exterminate Velvet, but that didn't quite work out so well because the Abbey didn't have enough forces - so few, in fact, that the area north of Hellawes is now a Class 4. Hahahaha, suckers. If only the sheeple knew the truth! The Bloodwing knows about the Suppression and isn't sure how far it progressed. Dyle says that this town will be our new hideout, for the time being, and we'll leave the therions here. Benwick and company are making preparations in Hellawes. Dyle also asks Rokurou about the Shigure fight. Rokurou claims the kill and thinks he's too inexperienced to have broken Stormhowl. Or maybe it's just that the blade is unbreakable. It's probably made from an alloy that includes orchialcum, so it's unbreakable and can break anything. Kurogane's blade is equally strong, and the two blades didn't force each other to break because of their wielders.

I'm doing some equipment management right now but may do a few odds and ends after. I'll post those separately since it's a "probably not" but we'll see.

Only updates afterward last night were two Dire Foe fights and an Odorless Fluid trip, where I got five more of 'em. I have enough for four more upgrades which I hope is enough. The people in Beardsley are a little confused about the events of the prior night. As they should be. Everyone should be.

Gonna play just a little bit right now...
There was no scene upon entering Hellawes, but there are some sidequest scenes. One of Teresa's stalkers is asking Eleanor what happened to her, and she scolds him for being a weakling who wants HER protection instead of providing it himself. I mean... that's why you use a condom. The fire in Eleanor's eyes also turns this guy on. He sounds like he has a need to attach himself to a fantasy because he has nothing else, but acts mightily creepy... I have that kind of need for attachment too, but I don't go about it in a creepy way anymore >_>

Bar talk is about Velvet overrunning Meirchio with a lot of misinformation. One, that the "Calamity" is trying to hurt people. Two, that it's only daemons there (as opposed to pirates). And three, that the Abbey can actually do something... or that Teresa would "defend" them. Did these people forget how Velvet wiped the floor with Teresa and kidnapped her malak? Or did the Abbey spin that into a lie as well? The fearmongering is working to control them, but... the Abbey will be history soon enough, and people will realize that Melchior and Artorius were scum.

Eleanor sends a sylphjay to her training buddies... and signs the letter, even though she's a traitor. They won't ignore the plight, but would they really trust her any differently than an anonymous tipster? We also eavesdrop on two thugs talking about an Abbey experiment where they combined several malakhim into one big one to study potential artes and let it run loose at the Faldies Ruins. And people think the Abbey are the good guys. Laphicet talks Velvet into going to kill it so they won't use whatever arte against us. Right thinking. The thugs also say that slaves were for the good of humanity. Fuck these guys. I go to kill the thing and take care of it (I get to see Howling Dragon TWICE for the first time in a while - sweet since it's the best Mystic Arte in the game that I've seen... I haven't seen Good Grip since the first time though, and have yet to see Rokurou and Laphicet's Level 2s). They just re-used Medissa's cage. Magilou whines afterward that it was just a load of bull, based on the thing's form. Lovin' the jokes, but hatin' the Abbey just treating malakhim like lesser beings that they can do whatever they want with. Bigoted AF. Slavery was NOT for the good of anyone.

And THEN I get a good one: Eleanor's confessions! Eleanor says her biggest regret she wishes to repent for was her blind faith in the Abbey and becoming a sheep. She says she doesn't want forgiveness because that would be repeating the same mistake, and the priest is too appalled to say anything... until he wants to confess to Eleanor. LOL!

I manage my equipment after the errand to the Faldies and stop there for now. To-do:
-Another Odorless Fluid run, probably.
-Go to Taliesin to find the Katz that'll take me to Nam Cobanda Isle
-Noh Dolls in Yseult
-Kill the Code Red near Stonebury (miasma in the woods? There's this other dungeon...)
-Class 4 north of Hellawes?
-Find Laphicet's friend with the 12-year sickness
-Figure out whatever loose ends I'm forgetting about
-Kill Artorius

There's probably more that I gotta do than that. I am at endgame. The climax was what I did last night. That scene of Velvet DEVOURING Melchior in front of the red moon was so glorious. Like it was extremely satisfying even if I wanted to torture the bastard. Melchior is as despicable of a villain as they come and its comeuppance was so satisfying because. And that's one thing this game does well: It has this irredeemable over-the-top dirtbag as the true Big Bad, but the others have complex motivations and less sadistic personalities. A good group of villains has the irredeemable one (Melchior), the alpha dog (Artorius), the sympathetic one (Villain Teresa), the henchman (Shigure), the throwaway (Thug Oscar), the turncoat (Eleanor), and the clueless one (also Eleanor). The "turncoat" can go in either direction, mind you. This party didn't have a turncoat; Bienfu was a spy only because he was brainwashed by a monster, not because he chose to be.

Definitely enjoying it, but this endgame cleanup is gonna be boring. I'll try to make it fun.

When we get back to the Von Eltia, Benwick gives us a "Fortune Apple" as a "good luck charm." SPOILER WARNING: I watched Snow White with some friends the other night and, uh, I don't know what kind of old hag he bought this thing off of but we surely shouldn't eat it. The party thinks that they shouldn't eat it because it's "good" luck when we need "bad" luck... okay then. Velvet comes to conclusions about her power to consume being a part of Innominat... does that mean she'll survive and become human again if we kill the villain?

I get a skit about tackling sidequests, which may give us an idea of what Artorius is up to and... well, we're not meeting the Empyreans, because we're not going to find them, and we'll probably have to fight them. They're only concerned with the balance that Innominat threatened, not our vendetta. But for some reason I can only go to this Class 4 for Armored Daemons and Zeksom. The heck? I clear out the daemons at the Class 4 and just go to the only place I can, hoping it's for a scene that shows the normalization of the place.

On the way, Eleanor and Velvet have girl talk about Laphicet... his motivation comes from hope, while Velvet's comes from spite and despair. They both play tough but in opposite directions. It's a fascinating dichotomy, now that the game mentions this. Laphicet is extraordinarily tough for a kid his age because he looks to a brighter future, while Velvet is in great anguish and projects her toughness to both hide her internal fragility and to project her anger at the world. A world she understands now, from Laphi's viewpoint as one who wanted to travel. Velvet then asks Eleanor a favor: To take care of Laphicet. Eleanor starts realizing that Velvet is going to go full kamikaze since she thinks her death is inevitable if she kills Innominat. And Velvet says she can't control it. Eleanor says she can't control her acceptance of Velvet's conditions, either, since that's her oath. "Good thing I kicked your butt after all." I love how the dynamic between these two has evolved. It's an interesting relationship. The game has several. Disappointingly, Rokurou/Eizen isn't one of them. I wish we'd have gotten more drinking scenes of them!

Zeksom has returned to normal. Eleanor starts talking about how she can think for herself instead of letting her political affiliation doing it for her, and because of that she's much stronger, even if it's more painful. That's something I often tell people: You have to think for yourself, else you're going to live in stupid. Accept reality for what it is. Rokurou reminds her to not push herself too hard and to ask for help if she needs it. You CAN rely on others, but... not when it comes to doing the thinking. Question everything and know who really has your back. Some people are mad at the exorcists for losing the malakhim, but this one exorcist has a shit ton of backbone and will give his life for the people - that's dedication. There's also a guy who wants to rip off of Magilou's comedy routine... and uses the Dark Wings name in an epic reference that I did not expect. Well, they were circus performers as well as shifty thieves, so there is that. I find the trader who I punched out, and he thanks me for saving his life and offers a permanent 30% discount for the Von Eltia. Nice! A sailor talks about opening a tea shop since that's tea, and then asks Eleanor on a date. She says no. I notice a huge amount of sidequests... so here we go on a tour!

I pick Yseult first. Gosh, I haven't been here in eons. I don't even have hoverboard access since it was before I got that! There's a Teresa stalker here, too, who's even creepier than the other guy, only thinking about his own perverted desires instead of how to treat a woman properly. No, dude, you're not the man she was after, because you're making it all about yourself. He then starts to fall for Velvet because of the icy glare... and Magilou scurries everyone away. LOL. I get a tip about a daemon in Palamedes, watch the Rokurou/Magilou comedy routine (the two trolls don't work together very well, sadly), overhear some hypocrite calling Haria "heretics" for worshiping a better Empyrean, and get a BIENFU CONFESSIONAL where the priest is whispering because the entire group is trouble. He doesn't buy Bienfu asking him to forgive his companions, and then Bienfu tells HIM to repent for being a petty mean old priest. XD!

The scouting ship discovers some Terror Island... which sounds very endgame sidequest-y. Eizen says in the skit to "join up with the crew at the decks in Yseult" - so, uh, was that scripted, or was it just because I was in Southgand? Did they have one for each port recorded? Interesting given the budget. Also interesting: More guys enjoying being whipped by Kraken Queens... and the climate's sudden shift causing peril around here.

I collect the blue Nor Doll in Haria, getting a skit about Eizen sending letters to his sister as an apology for never coming to see her, and knowing he'll never get a reply because she disapproves of his way of life since she wants him by her side. It's kind of tragic, at least until Velvet says "Just go hash it out with her! At least the person you care about is still alive!" Eizen's actually pontificating this. Don't blame him. She's right. He really should go see her, even if he brings the curse with him. And even though he belongs on the Von Eltia... she might actually fit in, too. I mean, are the guys going to try anything with her when Eizen would punch them into the water?

That's all for now. Tomorrow, I plan to take on this daemon in Palamedes, beat up the Code Red near Stonebury, finish collecting Nor Dolls, and arrive at Nam Cobanda Isle. Progress is progress, however sidequesty!

Just gonna do rapid-fire since people don't seem to care.

• Fishing "game" on the way. Only have 5 pcs of bait, so I can't do a good job :/
• I struggle more with a chain encounter along the way than I do the daemon-eating-daemon at Palamedes. That thing was so weak I had the fight done with in 45 seconds. It barely got to eat any slimes. TRY HARDER BAMCO!
• I have 15 pcs of bait now and still don't catch the "Big One" - I think I did an okay job...?
• Equipment management blah blah blah
• I get to Terror Island and.... it's legitimately scary in a completely different way than I could've ever imagined. It's tacky Normin stuff, and the Normins talk like Mieu (might even be Sandy Fox here too?). Bienfu and Grim say hi, and Grim was last here some 1500 years ago. GEEZ, how old is she? The squeaky one recognizes her, too, AFTER ALL THAT TIME! It absorbs life from all that exists in "that" way... and isn't going to be on the map, for the Normins' sake.
• Eizen still wants to explore more seas... and underneath them.Not sure what this says about Zestiria, nor do I care. I'll get there when I get there.
• One of Bienfu's buddies has been lounging here for a thousand years and wants a pretty, nice girl, even one who'd make terrible puns. There's... a reference there, isn't there?
• A very familiar voiced Normin says Zaveid came with another kid malak who he'd saved. Huh. I'm more intrigued by the thought that Teddie is a Normin.
• Reneed has all kinds of rumors. Exorcists becoming daemons, that the "Lord of Calamity" dresses as a witch and rides a broomstick (Magilou cares more about the defamation from the game of telephone than Velvet), the elder pioneer trying to get Eleanor to marry his son like many other Boomers seem to enjoy suggesting... and, most importantly, Videl. He's not doing so well. He's in bed, dying, and his mother has accepted defeat because of his diagnosis. Laphicet insists on getting the book to decipher the last ingredient so we can make the potion he needs. (Also, "we're out of leads" vs. "we have to leave" huh?). Velvet is brutally direct to light a fire under his butt, and that works. We're off to where I was gonna go next anyway!
• Looks like Davahl Forest is still impassible... and I can't get into Zamahl Grotto, either. Huh. That's weird. The fact that these two places have rhyming names is not lost on me.
• I find a green Nor Doll in the middle of some crops in Stonebury (why's it just sitting here?) and the Toitolez comes... saying the name as Turtlez? The what now? The letter is challenging Eizen to a duel and purporting to be Eizen's sister... and we have to go back to Titania. One small problem with that: We can't go back there now because the game won't let me. The game also won't let me into Davahl Forest. Is.... this assault on the Empyrean's Throne not the actual ending? Is there more coming up? Uhh...
• Comedy routine: Eizen isn't funny, but is good at provoking Magilou. Apparently, Bienfu is funnier than the lot of them... which was Magilou's point, I guess? Bienfu abuse could end up being very funny in Loegres, but we'll see. There's also a story about a caravan collapsing and everyone dying... except one girl, whose body they never found. Was that... Magilou? (Also: Zestiria reference and yo ho ho and a bottle of... snake wine?)
• I look for hints about Davahl and... there's a fruit tree I missed. Let me guess: I was supposed to know that from Zesty. I go deep into the woods and Videl's dad, an exorcist praetor, is there. He gives us the leaf, being willing to give up his quest because his malak isn't listening to him and the last ingredient is "a malak's prayers." Laphicet doesn't say anything (Velvet accidentally calls him "Laphi" and he doesn't remark on that, either, oddly). The skit also has numerous typos, including the most hilarious one ever: instead of "squeeze out a prayer or two" it says "squeeze out a private too." WHO THE HELL ARE YOU GIVING HANDJOBS TO, MAGILOU? I wanna know!
• The boss is weak and I dispatch him easily despite being about the same level (Velvet a little higher). I head straight back to Reneed. Videl's mom looks dejected. He's slipping into the comatose state that precedes death, mumbling Laphicet's name knowing that's his last hope. He regrets telling his one friend to go away, not realizing that one friend came through for him anyway. Laphicet tearfully says it's all okay, and that he has to get better so he can see the world... and this qualifies as "a malak's prayers" and the tear finishes the Omega Elixir. THAT last one was the impossibility that made it so the miracle never happen. Until now.
• Videl's dad turns up and his dejectedness speaks loudly: He can't be forgiven. He sacrificed his family for his duty. Only for it to come back with good karma. Videl comes out to see his dad and says that his friend was the one he'd told the final ingredient. Unfortunately, his helmet is still on his head when I wish I could see his face. (This also makes me wonder: Why can't Eleanor have a helmet as an option? She has the rest of the uniform...)

I note that I can go to Titania now, but I will do that tomorrow. Same goes for Nam Cobanda Isle via Taliesin. This has been enough sidequesting!

• I kill the Succubus Queen first, because chances are I'm going to be transported to a town after the main event. I don't wanna miss this three-skill potentite, now do I? She's not too challenging, but this kinda happened:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/8/5/AAR0ZFAAC_gB.jpg
Yeah, that's in the small area off by the cell block. She kinda got trapped there, thankfully at the end of the fight.

• The letter sender was the orange Normin, Phoenix, who I hadn't mentioned because of seeming irrelevance at Terror Island. Eizen's sister was writing but not sending letters, even though Eizen kept sending her presents. Eizen doesn't follow because of his invasion of privacy. Phoenix objects in his face that he's been lying to her about his lifestyle, and that she doesn't know he's a pirate. Anyway this fight is fucking BRUTAL. I get destroyed. I'll.. come back after I gain another few levels.
• Going to Taliesin gives me the heartwarming stuff I need right now. THE CATS ARE BACK! ^_^ Zaveid took in some orphans and raised them alongside his girlfriend Theodora, and brought in some human chefs to cook a wonderful meal for them... and when Theodora disappeared, the chefs became the foster parents, realizing that malakhim have hearts, too. And Niko's fiance has found a new bride, though he will never forget Niko and never forgive himself for not eloping with her sooner. Good call tbh. He can't be in despair forever. (Is anyone even reading this?) All of this is wonderful. If I could live in any town in this game, it'd be this one, and it's not close. Let's see... Loegres is too pretentious. Reneed and Stonebury are too remote. Aball and Haria are too daemonized. The ports are small and drab. Hellawes, Meirchio, and Beardsley are too cold. Yseult is the only other one I'd consider, but Taliesin means exercise, KITTIES, and good culture.
• Theodora is probably that white-horned dragon, and Eizen wants to kill her to ease Zaveid's pain, I think? Laphicet wants to cure her, and he's probably the only way to do so.
• Some frat boys are planning a town and want to get laid before they do, instead of working hard to achieve it. They're dumb, but Eizen sets them straight: "Don't speak of your dreams, become them." The problem is... failure. I have a lot to figure out but this isn't the place for introspective shit. (This is clearly referencing a town that's there in Zestiria, of course.)
• The Katz says it's Katz Korner this time, but it's the same thing as Nam Cobanda Isle so I wasn't entirely wrong. Velvet is a killjoy, vetoing the other five. Sorry, I'm going, Crowe. Turns out it's because she's allergic to Katz (and cats too), and it would have helped to have known that. This is indeed where the skit player is (and Tales puns... LOL). Skit player seems to indicate I am indeed at the end of the game, even if I am missing many sidequest ones. (I've found all but two Katz chests btw)
• There's a slider puzzle game and the hardest difficulty is something like... 10x10. YIKES! And this is coming from a guy who is preternaturally good at puzzles. Like I knocked out the 5x5 in two and a half minutes. (Sliders are super easy if you know the trick). There are also adamantite weapons (two free fragments!) and lots of meowing. I.e. "Von Meowtia." I'm surprised Eizen didn't threaten copyright infringement, and I don't mean a lawsuit. I mean... dinner.
• I visit Celica's grave and learn she enjoyed puns like "Niko's dogs are so scared of people they hide on the woof" and something about taking flowers to gravestones. Sounds like somepun I'd hit it off with! And I don't care that was bad. I make puns like that all the time for a reason. Livens the mood.

I stop in Aball, but will look for sidequests in the towns I've not yet visited as well. It's nice that they show them on the world map, else I'd miss them.

There's a scene at the shrine by Aball. Afterward, I go back to Taliesin on foot, and head to Katz Korner where I manage equipment.

This is what I have been doing. It is boring. I train outside Taliesin with chain encounters and stuff, maxing ALL of the Adamantine items I had equipped versus a single Fire Doe. I am of the hope that this helps me out in the Phoenix fight.

I go to Lionel Island Wharf and get an achievement for watching the budget Viking Funeral for Aifread. I get info on two Class 4s, one of which is filled with the spirits of the dead in Battle Royale (I mean, this is Japanese, so it's gotta be). Since there's nothing in the marsh, I go to clear 'em. There's a third from earlier, so I clear that too.

Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meowy meow meow me meow meow me meow... WHY DO I HAVE THIS STUCK IN MY HEAD? I'm at 52 Katz btw... it wasn't just 50.

In Cadnix, Eizen investigates some antique books on dragons - there's only one left that his buddy saved, and he'd LOVE for Eizen to decipher it to use against the Abbey. Sweet of him. Magilou also summoned Grim after we talked to the Bloodwing tipster, so... Avarost deciphering, here we come! I note the Xillia 2 Kresnik reference. Grim and Laphicet conclude that there's no way to turn a dragon back into a malak, to cure the Reaper's Curse, Eizen... is gonna have to royally piss off Zaveid. Like ROYALLY. By consuming Theodora's heart. ("goose I'm even" instead of "gruesome" - you've gotta be kidding me). Zaveid... already knows because he overheard. Welp. He is NOT HAPPY. And yet, he's gonna do it. To release. (Was this the dragon by Stonebury? I think so...?)

Cadnix also has a scene with more fake rumors about the Lord of Calamity that agitate Magilou, who's apparently insecure about her height. Quelle surprise.

Anyway, I stop there. This was over the last two days so...