#i have yet to play Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure so this is very amusing to learn

[fostersffff]

My Favorite Games I Played In 2024

I wanted to put out a list of the games I played this past year (that didn't necessarily come out last year year) that I felt I positive on, and as a recommendation guide for anyone who thinks their tastes may line up with mine. I was originally intending to post this back in like... January, but you know how things are sometimes.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails from/to/of/into/through Zero/Azure/Cold Steel III & IV/Reverie/Daybreak

The first half of this year was dedicated to catching up on all of the Trails games I hadn't yet played- which was most of them- and I think it should be considered a testament to how much I like the Trails series that I was able to play six ~50+ JRPGs without getting burnt out (and frankly, developing a hankering for more). I also did not realize well after I had done so that 2024 is also the 20th anniversary of the series, so in hindsight it was a perfect year to do this.

To outside observers, I imagine the Trails series can be intimidating, which is fair, since people who are into it love talking about the fact that this is a franchise with a story that has been developing linearly since 2004. Thankfully, it's not actually that impenetrable: to date, the series can be broken up into four distinct story arcs, taking place in their own countries and separate casts of characters. As a result, the actual stories of the previous arcs are usually just broadly referred as Things That Happened. Similarly, when characters from previous arcs show up, they're usually presented with some fanfare, but not to the point of "you're going to be totally lost if you didn't play the previous games". Of course, if you have played the games, you get the benefit of getting extremely hyped when the characters you watched grow over the course of the games show up The Strongest Guys, and knowing that the Thing That Happened is a part of the backstory you got to see first hand.

Of course, if it was just a sense of continuity, the games would be better served as basically any other medium. Instead, Falcom has been constantly elaborating upon and experimenting with the battle system first introduced in Trails in the Sky, which was itself pretty solid. Combined with the fact that Falcom is maybe the most consistent company in the world about turning in Good Soundtracks

If you've never played a Trails game before and it sounds like something you'd like to check out, I would recommend picking the start of an arc (Trails in the Sky, Trails from Zero, Trails of Cold Steel, or Trails through Daybreak) and going in release order from there; the games are pretty good about keeping you informed of anything you may have missed in previous installments.

Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore

I was intrigued by this game when it was first revealed, because I wasn't sure if it would be able to sustain itself solely on The Bit of being an homage to the CD-I Zelda games. I was very pleased to find out it was, by knowing exactly how long The Bit could sustain itself and how much players would be willing to deal with for the sake of The Bit. This is accomplished by having gameplay that looks a lot like those games, but actually play competently, with the overall difficulty skewing really easy. However, considering everything about this is purpose build for The Bit (including the developer's name being "Seedy Eye" Software), that was definitely the right choice. It also has a surprisingly catchy soundtrack that's evocative 90's MIDIs, and I've found myself revisiting the Boss Theme pretty often. Oh, and of course, the Weirdly Animated Cutscenes, which were (save for a few where they were clearly rotoscoped, which in my opinion kinda defeats the whole purpose) pretty charming.

I came away from this kind of hoping that the sequel they teased is more of a real game, and they keep on The Bit just with those Weirdly Animated Cutscenes.

Slave Zero X

Slave Zero X was my first encounter with a game this year that just should not have been released on the Switch (my burden), so it speaks to how much I was enjoying it that I opted to buy it again on PS5 so I could actually play it.

This is- bizarrely- a beat 'em up with fighting game controls that is a prequel to a third-person shooter from 1999. You play as a vengeful gay shinobi who fuses with the Carnage symbiote, and go forth to juggle riot cops until they explode in a shower of bones and viscera like Mortal Kombat 2 characters. I got so into this that I went back to get the ludicrously frustrating achievement to beat the boss you're supposed to get effortlessly rinsed by.

I don't know if I can quite make a general recommendation for this, because it is a pretty challenging game that plays most like a 2D fighting game, but if any of the above description sounds like you're thing, absolutely give it a shot.

Pepper Grinder

I can't think of much to say about Pepper Grinder because I think I 100%'d it in really short order because I was having such a good time with it. It reminded me a bit of what I liked about Donkey Kong Country 3, which is that every stage had some weird new gimmick that wasn't reused in any other stage, and that it had the grace to wrap itself up once it realized it had done everything it could with its core mechanics. The core mechanic being "you have a drill to plow your way through environments at speed", so all of the gimmicks coming off that is real goddamn tight.

Crow Country

I have no real affinity for PS1-era Survival Horror games; despite my family owning a large number of the classics, including every Resident Evil game released until 4, I never played any of them because I was genuinely too scared. I have since gotten over my fears and really enjoyed the remakes of Resident Evil 1-3, but I had zero nostalgia for Fifth Gen Tank Control Survival Horror games. With that said: Crow Country is a damn good video game that doesn't seek to scare as much as impart a constant low-level sense of dread with a couple spikes here and there. I feel like it's also the harbinger of "indie devs now have the tools to make convincing PS1/N64 looking games", which isn't to say games with that aesthetic didn't exist before, just that it's easier (and trendy!) to do so.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess

I feel really inclined to call Kunitsu-Gami my personal game of 2024, because it earned the high honor of making me think "man, this is a PS2 game out of time". I imagine by this point the game has already been largely forgotten, what with a new Onimusha on the way, but I had such a good time with it that I'm almost certainly going to pick it up on the Switch 2. It's a very strange mixture of action and tower defense that, similar to Pepper Grinder, rotates through gimmicks to avoid ever feeling stagnant, and what it lacks in sheer variety it makes up for with good timing.

I sincerely hope Capcom makes more games like Kunitsu-Gami going forward, if not mechanically, than in the same spirit of "let's just fuck around and do some weird stuff". The industry doesn't have enough of that on the higher end of the development scale these days.

Astro Bot

Astro Bot has already received its flowers, winning Game of the Year at the Geoffies, but I do think it bears repeating that Astro Bot is a really wonderful game. Even if you strip away the pandering it does by stripping out all the references to classic PlayStation-affiliated games, it's a delightful 3D platformer that just feels great and taps into what visual fidelity in the Current Year should be: lots of little fuckin' things exploding all over the place at all times. It's not my absolute favorite type of platformer, in that there's no momentum or really any kind of advanced movement tech, but it is just solidly good and joyful throughout.

(Sonic X) Shadow Generations

Iterating off of the good feeling gameplay of Sonic Frontiers, Shadow Generations is the first time I've felt absolutely, completely enthralled by a Sonic the Hedgehog game since the release of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle for the GameCube. It's genuinely hard to wrangle with how good this is, because it's so obvious: you have a hub world that is set up very much like the islands in Sonic Frontiers to send you to levels from past Sonic games, and each level has a strictly 2D stage, and a strictly 3D stage. I guess the surprise is more than Sonic Team actually landed on it, which is a backhanded compliment to be sure, but if the next game outta them is firing at this quality again, but maybe a bit longer, it'll almost certainly be their best game ever.

Balatro

Balatro offers a terrifying insight into the minds of soulless corporate executives by letting you experience the dizzying highs of watching a number go up. What if you try this weird fucked up thing to make the number go up better even though you're already getting good, solid big numbers, but they're not big enough? Oops, that fucked up your ability to get big numbers, but it's ok, you can try again to make that number go the fuck up, there’s no punishment for failure. I managed to finally curb my time with it after completing a gold stake run, but it really gets its hooks into you if you're enchanted by numbers going up.

Rivals of Aether II

I've become a big proponent of the Aether series in the last few years after I gave the first game a fair shake after they introduced Elliana, the snake piloting a Tron Bonne-mech. Following their platform fighter, they've released a not-Triple Triad knock off, a turn-based roguelite, and in 2024, the sequel to their original platform fighter, now in 3D and with a bunch of new mechanics.

While it sucks that I don't (and likely won't) have access to Elliana for some time, new character Loxodont is exactly my shit (for the Smash minded, imagine Ike + King Dedede), which has kept me engaged for a few months now. Plus, I think Aether Studio deserves props for their roadmap: buy the game, and you get all substantial content updates, i.e. characters and stages, for free, and if you're so inclined you can spend money on cosmetics, many of which can be obtained in-game for free.

[naeuris-brainrot]

Yeah. Yeahhhh. It's very... Tropey. It's clear that Sky was written from 2003-2004, and I appreciate Olivier's bi representation however bad it is because it's a 2004 game from Japan. But jfc. The explicitly queer characters do not have well-written queerness. At least up to where I am in Reverie.

Spoilers for Sky FC, Sky SC, Azure Cold Steel 1, 2, and 4, and Reverie below the cut

And crossdressing is played for laughs, but the first scenario where it happens (which is like 8 games before the second scenario) it's not only because of theatre, but the girls play guys and a guy plays a girl. And it's poked fun at but not in a transphobic or homophobic way, just because the guy who dresses as a girl gets blushy about it. Again, I appreciate it more in context of it releasing in 2004.

The adoptive sibling romance... Yeah I don't have much for this one other than Joshua never viewed them as siblings and they were 12 when he got brought home by Estelle's dad and 16 when they decided to be bf/gf. Plus Joshua had two people he actually considered siblings and never thought of Estelle that way.

I hate the Agate/Tita and Rean/Elise stuff though I think the games would have lost absolutely nothing by not including that.

Plus holy shit they don't know how to write lesbians. Shirley, Angelica, and Ilya are awful people tbh and should go to jail ESPECIALLY in regards to their treatment of Elie, Towa, and Sully respectively. Aeolia is on thin fucking ice.

Crow, though overtly flirting with Rean in CS1 and CS2, is not in any way actually a romance option. This sucks because he's pretty fucking wholesome in his flirting with Rean, and it's the first real time we've seen someone queer in the series be not a predatory stereotype about it. Additionally, they seem to have forgotten about Crow's flirting with Rean in CS3/4/Rev. Tbf, bigger things were going on. But CrowRean deserved to be canon and Cold Steel as a subseries fucked up by doing the whole harem thing for Rean.

Now Wazy. Wazy Wazy Wazy. Uh. I don't know how to categorize him. People can't tell his gender and call him by he/him, she/her, and they/them pronouns throughout from Zero and to Azure, and he explicitly makes jokes about this and doesn't mind people seeing him as whatever gender they want to see him as. Yeah, the main cast all he/him Wazy but on missions where there's a gender divide Wazy goes with the girls, and Wazy is the only "guy" in the entirety of Trails to wear a two-piece bathing suit.

Wazy is a sex worker who has said he works with both male and female clients, and is genuinely sweet when he's not being a total dickhead (affectionate). He flirts with the entire SSS excluding Tio, the only minor in the SSS, and Lloyd, Randy, Elie, and Noel all find him equally annoying and endearing.

He's involved in the Septian Church by magical trauma, not by choice (which you only learn if you max out your bond with him in Azure and then choose to see his hidden cutscene which gives very important background info on him that's kinda wild), and he gets called "Father Wazy" by those in the church. His Squires all unequivocally think he's a pain in the ass but see him as reliably a dumbass and respect him completely.

I haven't played Daybreak, so IDK what the situation is like there (supposedly there's a male character who explicitly likes men and is the least stereotypical/tropey portrayal in Trails yet, as explained to me by the trans girl who got me into the series).

But I have hope.

Mostly because I love the plot.

Getting people into Trails is so awkward. You can talk all you want about the fun characters, the great writing, and the moving stories but you always have to warn upfront about the Adoptive Sibling Romance, the Not Very Terrific Lesbians, etc. and it feels like you're shilling for the worst anime shit imaginable.

[maybeitsacomfyclown]

Years ago i remember watching a video by jelloapocalypse called "this is basically trails of cold steel" and just recently I was like "I remember seeing that around maybe i should give it a try" ..... folks lets just say trying to play this series from the begining is an ordeal (one mind you I'd highly suggest going through.)

First off lets correct somthing, the name trails of cold steel is just an arch in a franchise known as Legend of heroes, to keep things simple though I'm sticking with the Legend of heroes: trails games (yes it matters, i have spent so much time trying to keep things straight I'm starting to look like a PTA meeting in the 80's)

I wanted to get the most context possible since it seemed like the pull for these games were the story so I've started with LoH: trails in the sky, which while was a good choice has sent me down the rabbit hole of "what order these games should be played in" and the consensus i found on reddit was this list.

Loh: trails in the sky 1-3

Loh: trails in zero

Loh: trails in azure

Loh: trails of cold steel 1-4

Loh: trails of reverie

Loh: trails in daybreak

There were more listed but they weren't localized in english yet apparently (plus i thought it couldn't hurt to just play what i found right?), but then i noticed something strange. "Trails in the sky 1-3? I only found 1 copy of that game does that mean that the one i have, has 3 jrpgs in it or am I going to go mad" so anyway, post maddness set in a few days ago and i found that yes there are three games.

Loh: trails in the sky (oh i know that one)

Loh: trails in the sky SC (wait what that dosen't say 2)

Loh: trails in the sky the third (I want to kill you un homoerotically)

Woe be the motherfucker that though this would be simple, but alas most of the facts are now laid bare. Idk why i wrote this, maybe because I wanted to put into writing what this series has done to me emotionally before i even scratched the surface, or maybe in the vein hopes that this will save some poor sap down the line getting confused like me. Anyways since I have you here I might as well ask if anyone else has the headcannon that joshua is trans hence why he hates wearing dresses so much and why he dosen't want to talk about his past . (Look i need somthing to hold onto with how much this game shreds itself somtimes) anyhoot take it easy take it breezy.

[inkedmyths]

Hi! I played a bit further but it was mostly exploring the school grounds. Husband said i should have started the series with Trails in the Sky. Have you played that one? He also sat down to watch me play a bit & proceeded to get bored out of his mind bc i was going around the library meticulously reading every piece of the vast infodump i could find there. I so envy the Japanese school system bc of these clubs, i wish we had sg like that. Love, TA

I have yet to play the Sky trilogy, mostly bc its not on a convenient platform for me. I'm more or less playing this massive series semi-backwards DHSGSGSG. If I'd gotten into the series like, on purpose (instead of stumbling into it bc someone I know was playing it), I probably would have tried to start with Sky? But its fiiine. The series does a pretty good job of explaining the point you're at, and if nothing else it makes the previous games interesting prequels. I'll get to you Estelle I promise I just need money and to be sure my computer can play it alright—

Trails from Zero is also finally officially localized, though that one's less of a prequel than the Sky trilogy, and I think part of it actually takes place simultaneously as CS1?? Idk I haven't finished Zero yet. If Azure's localization comes out before you start CS3, I would definitely recommend playing those before CS3, since there's some important characters that show up from there. Once again, not vital, but adds some depth.

YEAAAA I LOVE READING THE BOOKS OF LORE who needs real studying when I can read about the economics in Fantasy Germany

Yea we kind of had clubs in school but we met like every 2 weeks for a half hour or something augh. Unless it was like, sports or you did theatre. It would have been nice for them to be a bit more active

[venusxxlangdon]

instruction manual

pairing: outpost!Michael x fem!reader

words: 7.2k

warnings: smut, unprotected sex, fingering, dirty talk, daddy kink

summary: before going on a business trip for the Cooperative Michael teaches you how to masturbate

gif credit: l-angdon (account diactivated)

The warmth of the crackle of lively flames, blazing cheerily in the marble fireplace, illuminated your silhouette that was curled beneath Michael’s feet, flashing red sparkles reflecting at your face nestled comfortably on his thighs.

 “What do you mean you don’t know how?”

The slow rumble of Langdon’s voice sounded comforting, his fingers were brushing lovingly through your hair. You let out a quiet purr, nuzzling into the fabric of his tight boxer briefs covering his semi-hard cock and sighed, scorching his crotch with your hot breath and instantly melting into his touch. It felt nice to sit like this, letting the enigma of a peaceful night wrap around you and Michael and your thoughts wander away in the vortex of sweet fantasy. Only the disturbing question that he had asked you shattered your peaceful bliss and made you shake your head in disapproval. No, he should not have ruined the moment like that.

 “Y/N?” He called your name, sounding sterner and more demanding this time.

 You lifted your head up from his lap and looked at him, meeting the intense stare of his azure eyes that were curiously studying your face. You could hedge and he would immediately know it, you could remain silent and he would use his powers to drag the confession out of your vulnerable mind. It was a zero-sum game for you, yet you still tried to pretend that you had no idea what he was talking about.

 “What?” You scoffed childishly and dropped your head back onto his lap, your bottom lip pushed forward in a pitiful pout.

 “I asked you a question.”

 He petted your cheek and then traced his fingers to your mouth, brushing the pad of his thumb over your puffy lips, urging you to speak up. He was used to your stubbornness and learned to resist it. You pressed a small kiss on his digit and raised your arms to wrap them around his waist, shifting closer and leaning into his warmth.

 “I don’t want to talk about it. Can you just read my thoughts?” you shrugged, scrunching up your nose and absentmindedly pressing your lips to the velvet skin of his lower abdomen just above the waistband of his briefs in an attempt to divert his attention to something more pleasurable than the discussion he had tried to initiate. You hoped that the tone of your voice would break through his perseverance, but none of the muscles of Michael’s face twitched at your words.

 Dressed in nothing but an aforementioned boxers and a burgundy shirt unbuttoned down his chest, he looked like an ancient God who had blessed the worldly life with his presence. His posture radiated confidence. Silky locks of his hair flowed freely down his shoulders, curling like golden snakes in the hollows of his carved collarbones. He slid his hands along your shoulders and then traced them back to cup your face, gently taking it from his lap.

 “No,” he mused and darted the tip of his tongue out to lick his bottom lip.  “Now when I know there’s a problem, we have to discuss it.”

 Mirth in his low, rich voice indicated that Michael was most certainly having fun and enjoying the way your rosy cheeks bloomed crimson, matching the color of the stones of his rings. You dropped your gaze low and pensively ran your fingers across his muscular thighs, brushing them against the porcelain skin that was contrasting with the fabric of his dress shirt, resembling the pomegranate seeds scattered in the snow. Goosebumps awoke his flesh, and you smirked when a new idea sparked up in your head. Maybe you could outsmart him. After all, two could play this game. Tracing your touch to the hem of his briefs, you drew the loose patterns on the noticeable bulge, and tilted your head to the side, looking at him sultrily.

 “How about I take care of your problem first, Michael?” You leaned forward, bringing your breasts up to nestle them against his parted thighs so he could have a full view of your cleavage. Having met no resistance, your palm confidently cupped his erection, your eyes fluttering excitedly at the delicious heaviness under your touch, familiar wetness instantly polling between your clasped thighs.

  He looked down at you with a triumphant smirk; a small pouting of his full lips, his narrowed eyes and a slight tilt of his head proved that he knew the game you were trying to pull off on him. Without taking his eyes off of your face, he took a fistful of your hair and guided your head up from his lap, torturously slowly bringing you closer to him. You gasped at the stinging sensation at the roots of your hair and bat your lashes at him, darting your gaze down to his lips that were dangerously close to you. You could taste the minty breath of his; your heart started beating like a caged bird in anticipation for a kiss, it was right there. All you needed to do was to reach forward and feel the softness of his touch...but the second you leaned for it, Michael maneuvered his lips to your ear, brushing the velvet of them against your cheek.

 “Nice try, baby,” he breathed out and rubbed the tip of his nose along your sharp jawline, trailing it behind your ear right where one of your most sensitive spots was located. A shiver ran down your spine when his hand possessively found its way to your left breast and gave your nips a harsh pinch between his thumb and index finger. He pulled you closer, his free hand snaking down your side to the curve of your ass, urging you to take a seat in his lap. You quickly straddled his thighs, pressing your breasts against his torso. Michael hummed against your skin and inhaled sharply, breathing in the intoxicating smell of your perfume and your own natural scent that reminded him of fresh apples and linen. “But I still need you to talk to me,” his voice, deep like midnight smog, was powerful enough to make you feel like your whole body was vibrating. You could barely able to focus on what he was saying, being too concentrated on the movements of his sinful lips and hands, exploring your body. “I won’t be with you for a week, and I want to make sure that you’ll take care of yourself properly.”

 “A week is not that long,” you murmured, gripping on his shoulders and digging your nails into the fabric of his shirt. The ache in the pit of your stomach ignited every sense, spreading in your lower abdomen like lava. He traced his fingers across your jawline, warm and soothing. Okay, letting him go for a week on a business trip might have actually been a torture. You did not know how you were going to handle being away from him for so long. You pursed your lips and wrapped your arms around his neck, lacing your fingers in his hair and enjoying the softness of it.

 “Y/N, please,” he whispered against your lips, almost kissing you. “Tell me why you can’t satisfy yourself,” you wondered if he was actually doing it for the sake of teasing you or really wanted the truth. You slid your left hand down his neck to the exposed collarbones, snaking it under the lapels of his shirt and dragging the smooth satin off of his shoulders.

 “Because my hands and fingers don’t feel as good as yours,” you confessed quietly, trailing your index finger across his chest and stopping at his nipple to circle the pink bud. You hummed and continued drawing random ornaments and patterns on his body without meeting his heavy gaze. Your small hand covered the spot where you knew his Antichrist heart was beating, and you lightly scratched his skin.

 “What had you been doing before you met me?” He asked and used his free hand to grind your hips down on his crotch, eliciting a low moan from you. You spread your thighs a bit wider, straddling his lap, so your clothed center was right above his cock. You could feel his length through the thin material of your panties and silk nightgown with the trim of delicate lace. You bit your lower lip and gave him one more experimental thrust, tasting the waters.

 “I’d been taking care of myself in the only way I knew how,” you said, dropped your hands from his shoulders on your thighs, rocking them back and forth, and slowly pulled your nightgown up to show him the wet patch spreading on your panties. Michael was watching your every move, and the moment he saw your arousal, he inhaled sharply, his cock twitching underneath you. His nostrils flared at the sweet scent of you.

 “And what was that?” His growled lowly, his vision clouding with lust.

 “Humping,” you breathed out and just to demonstrate what you had meant, you rolled your hips in figure eights, pressing down against his throbbing, tempting cock. You whined when his hands grabbed your ass and stopped your manipulations, firmly holding you in place and toying with the silk that was barely covering you. His fingers brushed against the string of your thong, caressing the crease between the two mounds teasingly, kissing them with the coolness of his rings, and then immediately traveling back to the small of your back as if the touch had been nothing but an accident.

 “Interesting,” he responded, stroking your back, soft fingertips running up and down your spine, “what did you play with?”

 You looked down, blushing even more, and nervously licked your lips.

 “Why do you need to know?” You groaned and arched your back at the feeling of his hands grasping your breasts and squeezing them in his palms, his thumbs running along the undersides of your titts to outline the beautiful shape.

 “Was it a pillow?” He demanded the answer and rolled your nipples between his fingers. “Did you grind your pretty little pussy on your pillow or a stuffie, imagining how nice it would feel to be split on a big, hard cock?”

 Michael’s words caught you off-guard, and your pussy throbbed at the filth that was dripping from his lips; the stain on your panties got darker as more juices flowed out of you. He ground you down once again just for the sake of hearing your moans and little mewls that were driving him wild. Bringing his hand between your legs, he gently rubbed your clit through the thin material of your undergarments, making you cling onto his shoulders firmly and let out an audible gasp.

 “Yes, I used a pillow,” you said breathlessly, dropping your head in the crook of his neck and bucking your hips forward into his welcoming touch, eager to get any sort of friction to ease the ache between your legs. Michael used the heel of his palm to press it against your swollen bundle of nerves and stroke your wet folds with his long, aristocratic fingers. His mouth, inches away from your ear, nipped at the sensitive skin of your jawline, perfect white teeth traveling higher to playfully bite on your earlobe. “It felt nice because it stimulated my clit, ah, so well,” you shut your eyes tightly, snaking in his arms.

 Michael circled your entrance with his index finger and without tugging your panties aside, pushed it inside, scooping some of your leaking arousal with the silky material. He smeared it all over your puffy folds, gently stroking his fingers up and down.

 “What about your fingers?” He wondered, seductively whispering in your ear. “How many did you manage to take? Tell me how they felt inside of you.”

 Oh God, he was really doing that. A broken cry escaped from your throat, as you blushed across your cheeks and neck, desperately not wanting to share any of that information with Michael. You just wished he took care of you in the way you never could do it yourself. He felt your desperation and thrived off of your neediness that he always ended up using against you. In a matter of seconds, Michael Langdon could turn you putty in his hands. You were his puppet that had been fucked into submission long ago. How could you resist such a beautiful man, who introduced you to the absolutely new world of sensations and showed you what your body was capable of? You sighed.

 “I don’t like fingering myself because it doesn’t feel nice,” you mumbled into his neck and turned your head to the side, resting it against his chest. His heart was beating just as fast as yours even though his facial reaction remained calm. “I tried to do it multiple times,” you hurried to elaborate, “but never felt anything besides some subtle sparks of pleasure when I did manage to find my g-spot...once.”

 For a long time you had been thinking that something must have been wrong with you because everybody seemed to get immense pleasure from stimulating their private parts, but the more you tried, the more frustrated you became. It had lasted until you met the first man who managed to lead you to an orgasm with his fingers and you realized that you were fine, just needed the right technique.

 Michael, however, was a whole new level. He showed you what your body was actually capable of, and really intense orgasms were only one of those amazing things. You just did not like the feeling of your own fingers in your pussy because the touch felt fake. You desperately needed a man to nourish you, stretch the tight heat out and take what was his; only then did it feel right.

 When you discovered that grinding against the pillow killed two birds with one stone, you were over the moon: it felt nice, plus you did not have to touch yourself. All you had to do was to keep rutting your hips against the soft material that aligned perfectly with your clit, stimulating it with every sway of your hips. Varying the intensity of how hard you clenched your thighs, you could prolong your releases as well.

 A strangled yelp fell from your lips when Michael suddenly removed his fingers from your core and grabbed you by your chin. You looked at him with your big, glassy eyes, hoping that he would finish what he had started. The corners of his mouth twitched ironically, as he spoke.

 “I asked you how many fingers,” the little devils in his eyes danced in the icy fire of his stare.

 You closed your eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again.

 “Two at maximum,” your voice sounded flat, as you watched Michael arch his brows in disbelief. His gaze lingered over your lips pressed in a tight line, your perky breasts, and folded dress that was pooling helplessly around your narrow waist. He trapped his bottom lip between his teeth and with a look of concern on his face suspiciously narrowed his eyes at you. He did not say anything, and you caught yourself at the thought that you were not breathing all that time, patiently waiting for his response. Michael let his power wander around your mind, looking for the reaffirmation of your words.

 “Unbelievable,” he hummed and leaned back into the armchair, looking at you through the heavy leads, a lazy smirk painting his full, luscious lips. You frowned in confusion, still sitting before him with your breasts bare and hungry for his touch, in your soaked panties that clang to your glistening pussy.

 Michael tapped his fingers against his chiseled chin, slightly brushing them over his plump lips.

 “Take off your gown and sit in my lap with your back facing me,” he instructed.

 Your heartbeat was so loud that you were sure Michael could hear it too. However, you took no time in following his order. Cautiously, you slid off of his lap and stood up on your wobbly feet. Hooking the nightdress with your fingers, you dragged it down your legs, letting it fall on the thick carpet. Taking a step closer to Langdon, you turned around and gracefully sat atop of him, facing the fireplace. A surprised whimper left your lips when his arms suddenly snaked around your figure and pulled you flush against his torso. You looked over your shoulder, nearly bumping noses with him and smiled shyly.

 “Hi,” you whispered.

 Your breath hitched when Michael pressed his lips to your temple and whispered:

 “Place your feet on the armrests.”

 You closed your legs tightly and bent them, putting your feet carefully on the left armrest of the big leather armchair, but Michael shook his head in disapproval.

 “No, baby”, he smiled at your bluntness. “Each leg on either side.”

 Oh. You hooked your right arm around his neck for leverage and hesitantly spread your legs apart, placing your right foot beside Michael’s right hand. Having done the same thing with your left foot, you looked at him nervously, embarrassed with how exposed you were at that moment.

 “Good girl,” he praised, his hair cascaded down your shoulders like liquid gold. He shifted underneath you, adjusting himself comfortably, so his clothed cock nestled right against your ass. Cupping your breast in his right hand, he used his left one to trail it down your tense stomach, stroking your soft skin, and then further to the trim of your panties. He rolled your hard nipple between his fingers and attached his lips to your neck, sucking a dark bruise on the delicate flesh, claiming you as his. “Daddy’s gonna teach you how you should play with your pussy...” he whispered, humming against your skin.

 Your eyes widened in disbelief, and you felt the knot in your stomach tighten at his words.

 “...but first, show me how you usually touch yourself.” He cooed, and your insides fluttered. You looked up at him pleadingly and shook your head from side to side.

 “It’s pointless, I won’t do it right,” your free hand flew up to cup Michael’s cheek. “You’re the only one who makes me feel good,” you tried to sweet-talk him into doing it your way.

 Langdon continued caressing your breasts, moving from one nipple to another, massaging them and brushing his rings over the sensitive buds from time to time, spicing up the sensation. He reached the waistband of your panties, adorned with a little bow, and snapped the band against your stomach.

 “Let’s take these off, shall we?”

 He let you close your legs in order to discard the unnecessary fabric off your body, but he was quick to spread your thighs once again and place your feet in your previous position once you revealed yourself completely bare before him. You shivered at the warm air of the room lingering over your folds. Michael’s fingers danced across your pubic bone down to your labia and lazily stroke the velvet skin.

 “When I ask you to do something,” he said, his voice barely above the whisper, “I expect you to obey immediately.”

 You had no choice. Thinking what to start with, you hesitantly trailed your hand up to your breasts, covering Michael’s palm with it and gently squeezing your tit tighter.

 “Okay,” your voice sounded raspy, so you had to clear your throat before you continued. “I usually start with touching my neck because that’s where I like your kisses the most,” your cheeks bled bright red as you spoke. “Then I move to my breasts and tummy,” you said breathlessly, stroking your stomach, “imagining that it’s you who’s touching me...”

 Michael was silent, allowing you to take your time. Little did you know that he was also listening to your thoughts and body, tuning in to your every vibration.

 “When I touch my clit,” you reached for your clitoral hood, lightly stroking it. Langdon looked over your shoulder, watching you bring your thumb to rub the sensitive spot, his hair tickling your neck and shoulders. You threw your head back and sighed. Trying to stimulate the patch where you knew your clit should have been located, you felt incredibly stupid. “Fuck, Michael, I don’t feel anything. I can’t do this...please...”

 Langdon left a chaste kiss on your bare shoulder and chuckled softly. He slapped your hands away from your core and pinned them down to the leather seat on both sides of your thighs.

 “You are doing it all wrong, my love,” he tugged a piece of hair behind your ear, running his fingers through your locks. “We’ll start from the beginning.”

 His soothing voice enveloped you completely, dragging you deeper into obscure lust. Michael wrapped his hand around your throat, bringing your face closer to his lips.

 “It’s all about the setup. We need to get you all nice and wet first,” he mewled as if you had not been already dripping down your own thighs, “and for that, we should find your erogenous zones. One is behind your ear,” Michael’s lips started peppering your skin with kisses, trailing down the nape of your neck and to your sharp shoulders.

  You melted into his touch, feeling every inch of your body relaxing at his caresses.

  “Second is the inner sides of your thighs,” his fingers followed the curves of your body, and he laughed softly at your thought “what about my breasts?” He was quick to elaborate. “Yes, they are sensitive too,” you blushed, realizing that he was tracking your mind. “But not as this area,” he petted the patch of skin on the inner side of your thigh, not far from your pussy, and your body immediately responded.

 “That’s exactly what I mean” He brought his digits down to your folds and scooped some of your arousal, smearing it between the tips, your mouth falling open at how wet you were. “I haven’t even touched you properly, but you are already dripping with your nectar.”

 “It’s because I love you,” you murmured, closing your eyes blissfully, “and it’s your hands that are touching me. I don’t feel the same thing when I’m alone.”

 He stroked your cheek lovingly, brushing a messy strand of your hair off your forehead. His left palm rested on your lower abdomen while the other cupped your pussy, slightly lifting your hips up.

 “And here we need to do all the work,” he moved his hand a bit lower, nestling the heel of his palm against your center, gently pushing on it. A wet, quaking sound accompanied his movement, making you squirm.

 “When you are on your own, I want to think of me in detail,” he instructed. “Imagine my hands all over your naked body, my lips worshiping every inch of your beautiful flesh. How I fill you up with my cum and then let you ride my face to clean up the mess you’ve made,” your eyes rolled back into your head at the imagery. “Would you like that?” He bounced you on his hip, waiting for your response. “Would you like to be my cum-filled slut, angel?”

You cried out and the affirmations of subtle ”yes, yes, please, yes” poured out of your mouth, causing a shit-eating smug paint across Michael’s ripe lips. 

He continued.

 “Where do you think Daddy would kiss you first?”

 You bit your lower lip, arching your hips forward, making him tighten his grip.

 “My lips,” you whispered and the next second his mouth was locked with yours in a passionate kiss, warm lips gliding against yours in perfect, synchronized rhythm. His tongue swept along your bottom lip, urging you to let him inside, and you opened your mouth, welcoming him. You moaned into a kiss, threading your fingers into his locks, messing them and tugging on honey strands, wanting to ruin his always perfectly styled mane. His lips, ripe as the sweetest peach, tasted heavenly, and you could not get enough of him, falling apart in his arms. He made you felt so weak, so insignificant; the crashing wave of the lustful tsunami knocked the air out of your lungs, making Michael your only source of oxygen.

 “So sweet,” he praised, parting away from you. The expression of pure bliss contoured your face. Langdon smiled when you took a steel grip on his shoulder, trying to pull him back into another kiss. He sucked on your bottom lip, eliciting a small squeak from you. Your chest was rising and falling heavily, pupils were blown wide. “Are you with me, little one?” He smirked, petting your cheek with his thumb. You tilted your head and closed your eyes, loving every second of his touch, and opened your mouth slightly, trying to suck on his digit.

 “Y/N?” He circled your spit-slick lips with the pad of his finger, and you rolled your eyes in annoyance.

“Yes, Daddy,” you responded, pressing your forehead to his. “Please, fuck me. I want you so badly, it...it hurts…”

 You did not care if you looked pathetic at that moment. The only thought drumming in your head was about him. Him touching you, ravishing you, owning you. Every inch of your body was swallowed in a burning hyena of embodying lust. You rutted your hips against him, desperately trying to get attention from your lover.

 “Stop it immediately,” he said in a stern voice, wrapping his hand around your throat to keep you in place. You let out a fitful gasp and dropped your hands, resting them on your thighs obediently. “I won’t fuck you until you learn your lesson.” His heart fluttered at the pout contouring your lips, but he made sure that you did not see the trace of weakness in his eyes.

 “Okay,” you inhaled sharply.

 His face softened at your compliance, and he used the back of his hand to trace a soft line from your kneecap to your inner thigh, caressing your soft skin.

 “Remember what Daddy has taught you?” He said, voice low and seductive. “Patience is a virtue, my love, and you will be rewarded for it. All I want to do is to show you how good you can make yourself feel. There’s no need to argue with me, okay baby? I’m not an enemy.”

 You gave him a nod, suddenly realizing how stupid your impatience had been.

 “I’m sorry, Daddy,” you mewled, laying your palms on his stomach, “I promise to behave.”

 He lifted your chin up and kissed you deeply, bestowing you with his affection. While his lips caressed you, Michael snaked his hand down your body to your pussy, stopping by the leaking center.

 “Good,” he noted and looked down at your core, your gaze immediately following his stare. “I want you to listen not only to my voice but to your body. Watch its every response and how it varies from where I touch you.”

 Langdon stroke your pussy from your hole to your clit, lubricating his fingers with your juices. He waited for another reassuring nod and then continued:

 “Let’s find your little clit once and for all,” you blushed at his words feeling embarrassed by the fact that you had not had your body figured out. However, Michael looked so confident and you knew that you were safe in his arms. He got you and you could be yourself with him. You watched him part your labia and outstretch the little patch of skin, exposing the sensitive area. You expected Michael to press right on the spot, but instead, he used the V of his index and middle fingers to stroke your folds, lightly pressing on them. Weirdly, it did feel nice. You hanged around his neck tightly, focusing on the built-up pleasure in your tummy. 

 “Don’t you ever go to directly rubbing your clit,” he said, watching you shiver, “the body of it projects upwards into your pelvis and attaches to your pubic bone. It’s as sensitive as your sweet bud, so we aren’t gonna ignore it,” Michael continued, working his fingers with gentle stimulation over your pubic bone, his light taps sending sparks of subtle pleasure down your spine. His fingertips moved at a snail's pace from the base of your vagina to your clit. It was enough to get you all worked up for him. “How does it feel, baby?”

 “N-nice,” you whispered and closed her eyes when he nuzzled into the crook of your neck to kiss you there. “It feels really nice, Daddy.”

 “Once you’ve played with the outside of your kitty, you can focus on your clit,” he noted, bringing his thumb to a swollen, more visible bean. He rubbed it in tight circles, causing you to jump in his arms. Michael squeezed your side, holding you in place. “Oh my love,” he breathed out, showering your trembling shoulders with kisses, “I have so much to teach you.”

 You were ready for him to do it, to become your guide.

 “I can’t believe you’ve been thinking that you aren’t sensitive, look at you,” he gasped, rubbing your arousal between his thumb and index fingers. You tried to suppress an obscene moan but it fell from your lips anyway, as you tried to shift forward in order to get closer to Michael’s fingers and accidentally brushed your naked bum against his cock. “So wet for me.”

 He had started with just feather-light touches on your clit and then intensified his manipulations, rubbing tight, rapid circles. His thumb ran from left to right, up and down, trying different directions, varying the amount of stimulation he was putting.

 “It tickles,” you said, tightening your grip around his neck. Whimpering like a little slut, you spread your legs wider, grinding on Michael’s fingers, instinctively wanting to feel them inside of you. “Daddy, I need more, please…”

 “So eager,” he tsked and much to your dismay removed his fingers from your aching clit. You sobbed brokenly and looked at him with so much desperation in your eyes that Michael growled. “Open your mouth and suck on your fingers,” he ordered.

 You obeyed, bringing two shaky fingers to your lips and swiping your tongue over them. When you started sucking on the velvet pads, you made sure to look Langdon in the eye and hollow your cheeks as much as you could, hoping that it would awake the most vivid memories of you giving him head in his mind. He traced the stones of his rings over your prominent cheekbones.

 “Just like that,” he brushed the strand of your hair behind your ear and left his hand on your cheek, “pretty little slut, show Daddy how you would suck his cock,” you moaned at his words, bobbing your head up and down while coating your fingers with the right amount of saliva. You could feel Michael’s clothed cock laying heavily underneath your pussy and it only added to the overall excitement.

 “Now let me see what you have learned so far,” he raised his chin a bit higher, giving you a stern look. You took your wet fingers out of your mouth with a sloppy “pop” and placed them on your clit. Trying to mimic Michael’s movements, you rubbed yourself in a steady rhythm, feeling the familiar sensation in your abdomen. You whimpered and looked at the blonde man in awe. You finally felt it. A hint of his best, a bit pretentious, smile was ghosting over his lips. Desire pooled in his eyes at the sight of you following his orders.

 “I-...I can feel it,” you whispered, sliding your fingers up and down just like he had done it. Pleasure rippled within you in electric impulses. “Michael, oh my God…” 

“Add one finger,” he said, voice low and raspy. Langdon was on the verge of exploding. It took him all his might and self-control to remain seated instead of flipping you over and fuck you into oblivion. Your parted pink lips, big eyes opened wide in awe from the new feeling you had discovered, silky hair tossed devilishly — you looked so beautiful, he gritted his teeth and brought his hand to his crotch. Palming himself through his pants, he watched you snaking your palm to your pussy and slowly inserting your index finger inside. It penetrated your heat with no resistance.

 “What do I do next?” You wondered, moving your index hesitantly, exploring yourself. The tight walls wrapped securely around the finger, vibrating as you tried to stretch them out.

 “I want you to feel yourself,” he groaned, “because that’s what daddy experiences when he penetrates your cunt. Always so tight for my fat cock,” Michael  leaned closer to whisper, “every damn time I feel like I’m fucking a virgin,” his tongue licked a wet stripe from your earlobe to your jaw, and you choked on your own moan. Michael smirked.

 “Only for you,” you murmured.

 Langdon tilted your head and arched his eyebrow at you.

 “Hmmm? What was that?”

 You licked your dry lips, still pumping your finger in and out of your core, and repeated:

 “This pussy is yours. Warm and tight only for you.”

 At that moment Michael saw red before his eyes. He took a hold of the armrest beside his left hand and dug his nails into the expensive material so harshly that he left the crescent marks on it.

 “Another finger,” he instructed, and you shook your head.

 “I don’t really think I can,” You sobbed but still tried to follow his command. Awkwardly, you brushed your middle finger over your folds and tried to add it to your already penetrated index finger.

 You only ended up scratching yourself. Looking at Michael with glassy eyes, you begged:

 “It won’t fit in,” your heart shattered at your incompetence. You wanted to be good for him so badly that the fact that you could not do what you had been told frustrated you to death. Whining pathetically, you tried one more time but got too scared, thinking that you could hurt yourself. The pleasure started to subside, and you sobbed like a little girl, desperately wanting to feel the nice sensation again. You rubbed your clit in fast circles, hoping that the new technique would make you wetter and hence looser.

 Michael was watching you with amusement. He flipped your hair over your left shoulder and rested his chin on your right shoulder in order to get a proper look at your finger pumping in and out of your pussy.

 “Come on, doll,” he urged you, “you want to make your Daddy proud, don’t you? Now be a good girl and add one more finger, I know you can do it. I won’t repeat myself again.”

 You sighed and lolled your head back, pressing your forehead to his smooth cheek.

 “I’m trying,” tears welled up in your Bambi eyes, “but see? It’s not working,” and to demonstrate what you had meant, you shoved two fingers inside of you, but only one managed to slip into your clenched hole. You felt frustration rising within you. Shifting in his lap, you tried to change the angle. “I told you that I could not do it,” you started to get angry. With yourself. With Michael for making you look like a fool. A brat within you wanted to confront him. “Fucking help me.”

 Langdon rolled his eyes at you. He brought three fingers to your pouty face.

 “How many fingers do you see?” He asked, and your gaze fell on his slender digits. The blood-red rubies and a jet black onyx of his stones blinked mischievously in the dim light of the room. Fire was dancing in the fine cut.

 “Three,” you answered, barely moving your lips.

 “This is the girth of my cock, Y/N,” Michael stated, and your insides quivered at the mentioning of his manhood. “And as far as I remember, you have no problem with taking it,” hues of baby pink painted your cheeks at his words as you remembered how good it had felt to bounce on his erect length.

 You nodded in agreement.

 “So don’t tell me that you can’t take just two of your little fingers.”

 It was pointless to argue. Trying not to look at him, you took a deep breath and started with one finger. It was welcomed with ease, just like it had been several minutes ago. Looking up at the ceiling, you shook your head, brushing the wet hair off your shoulders, and made another attempt to add a second finger. You wish you could disappear. A new tantrum swirled within you, ready to spill out. Michael sensed it too. He clicked his tongue in disapproval. 

 “Daddy, I’m sorry…” you wept, feeling extremely small and vulnerable.

 “Silly girl,” Michael huffed. He wrapped his left arm around your waist, chaining you possessively in order to give you the sense of security and remind you that he was still with you. He slightly bounced you on his thigh, making you shift a bit closer, and used his free hand to part your folds.

 Your mouth fell open as he slowly sank three of his frail digits shaped by prominent phalange bones into your cunt. He went as deep as he could till his rings nestled comfortably around your center. You let out a spasmodic moan and if it had not been for his strong arm holding you, your entire body would have collapsed in his lap.

 “See?” He said in a singsong tone, “It was not that difficult, was it?” Michael did not even care if you answered. You were too far gone. He scissored his fingers inside of you, pushing on the velvet walls. “I can hear how fucking wet you are.”

 A sloppy sound that was produced by his manipulations ranged in your ears. You could feel him so deep, it was doubtful that you could ever reach those spots by yourself.

 “Ngghh,” you whined incoherently as he crooked his fingers and moved them closer to your entrance.

 “All three are effortlessly inside,” triumph was transparent in his voice, “and you know why, little one? Daddy isn’t afraid to ruin your pussy while you are being too cautious, my love.”

 “Ahh, Michael!” You clang onto his arm for leverage, feeling that your tense legs were about to give up. Every muscle was burning from how spread out you were. Arching your back against his chest, you rolled your hips down, skewering yourself onto his digits.

 “And here it is,” he smirked, his fingers suddenly brushing against the spongey, strawberry-like spot at the top of your pussy. You had to bite on your lower lip to suppress a loud scream, “your sweet spot…”

 Your body felt as if it was on fire. Pressed against his chest, you felt him everywhere: his hair caressing your bare shoulders, his scent filling your nostrils, his low, alluring voice coating your senses like honey. Everything felt too good to be true.

 “Please, do that again,” you whispered, eyes wide open and shocked.

 Michael hummed. Instead of obeying your plea, he pulled his fingers out and took your hand in his. He dragged it back to your pussy and folded your fingers into a fist, leavening just an index out. You frowned, trying to understand what he was up to.

 “Gotta help Daddy,” he whispered in your ear, guiding your palm to your sex. You shot him a worried look but did not say a word. With a squelching sound, he managed to penetrate both of the fingers, yours and his, into your pussy.

 “There you go,” he said slowly, tasting every word on the tip of his tongue. Sweat beaded heavily on your forehead and temples as you felt every inch of your velvet guts. Breathing heavily, you concentrated on what you were experiencing at the moment, listening attentively to your body. Running the tip of your tongue over you chapped bottom lip, you leaned back against Michael's chest and closed your eyes.

 “This feels good too, Daddy,” you sighed, “not as good as your cock though, but still nice.”

 Michael chuckled, his warm breath brushing over your flushed cheek.

 “I know, baby,” you focused on the way he moved his fingers, trying to memorize the technique. Making “a come hither” motion against the top of your core, Langdon used his thumb to press on your clit, multitasking. “But it's better than nothing when Daddy’s away, right?” He varied his rhythm, trying to find the right one for you.

 “Gonna miss you so much,” you moaned, swaying your hips lazily. You moved your finger with his in unison, enjoying the feeling of the delicious stretch.

 “I know, kitty,” he pressed right on that magic spot, making you see white flashes before your eyes. “But Daddy will take care of you as soon as he’s back, alright?”  You squeezed your eyes tightly, being too overwhelmed with the pressure in your tummy. “I’ll fill you up so nicely, pound all your princess holes.”

 “Oh, please,” you howled and dropped your hand because you could not hold yourself back anymore. Your palm was covered in mix of saliva and your juices, but you did not care when you cupped Michael’s face in your wet hand and kissed him hard, painting his perfect cheek with your arousal.

 “Make me cum, please, make me cum,” you chanted the pleas like a mantra against his lips, your hips bucking towards his stomach, brushing against his cock each time.

 “Baby, slow down,” he lifted you by your chin, forcing to look up at him. You could not see straight, being too caught up in the overflowing pleasure. Tears spilled from the corners of your eyes.

 “Daddy, just take me,” you sobbed, Michael’s words about “pounding all your holes” drumming in the ballroom of your subconsciousness were the only thing you could think of.

 He swept his thumb across your bottom lip as if it could help to bring your attention back to him, but by the way you trembled in his arms and the incoherent rambling of your thoughts, he understood that you were too far gone in your subspace. You could not handle the tension, and your left foot slid off the armrest, accidentally kicking Michael’s thigh. You tried to put it back in place, but Langdon took his fingers out of you and used the same hand to get a grip on your calf and help you close your legs.

 “Lay down on your tummy, sweetheart.”

 Hallelujah.

You had stolen a quick kiss from him before happily getting down on your knees and then sprawling out on a thick carpet, facing the fireplace. The position you truly belonged in. You looked over your shoulder to watch Michael stand up from his seat and hook his thumbs over the waistband of boxers. He slid them down his long legs, and your mouth instantly salivated at the sight of his cock, slightly arched upward with bright pink, glistening tip. He wrapped his palm around it, smearing the pearls of precum and running his thumb along the slit teasingly.

 “Daddy,” you whimpered, resting your head on your outstretched arm and looking at him dreamily. Having made sure that his eyes were on you, you parted your legs invitingly and lifted your hips a little, giving him a full view of your pulsing pussy.

 An animalistic grow that rolled off of his lips gave birth to multiple butterflies inside of you, ready to tear you apart. Michael gracefully fell to his knees, straddling your waist.

 “You know what, pet,” he said, hovering over your back and placing his shaft between your ass cheeks. You froze in anticipation, fingers tugging on the faux fur of the carpet you were lying on. The vulgar wetness of his own arousal mixed with your fluids felt extremely erotic on your skin.

 “What?” You wondered, and the next sound that fell from your lips was an audible gasp because Michael took a fistful of your hair and tugged roughly, bringing your head up from the floor and forcing you to arch your back at the impossible sharp angle.

 “The first thing I’m gonna teach you when I’m back,” you shivered at the feeling of the head of his cock right at your entrance, pushing slowly inside, “is a fucking self-control,” and without a warning, he bucked his hips forward, feeling you up in one swift motion, so his balls slapped against your ass. The thrust was so hard that your body shifted a bit along the carpet and a loud scream rippled through you as you tried to adjust to his impressive size.

 You clearly had a lot to learn from Michael Langdon.

Taglist: @avesatanormalpeoplescareme @divinelangdon @ccodyfern @sammythankyou @babypinkstyles94 @kaigitana @ms-mead @sebastianshoe @langdonsdemon @iloveziggystardust @chaoticevillangdon @sojournmichael @sloppy-little-witch-bitch26 @theghostoflangdon @americanhorrorstudies @bbyduncan @nightsblackroses @langdvnshepherd @ccodyferns @isoldedax @coloursunlimited @micheallangdons @omgsuperstarg @1-800-bitchcraft @wroteclassicaly @ticklish-leafy-plant

[benisasoftboi]

Unorganised thoughts on Trails to Azure:

What a depressing ending!

Also spoils what I’m assuming will be a big twist in Cold Steel 2 re: Osbourne, but like... ‘they don’t know where his body is’? Come on, we all know what that means

Also Lloyd shut up about goddamn barriers, Jesus

But like in all seriousness, I heard a lot of people call this the best Trails game, and while I personally liked Zero and SC a little more, that’s not an unjustified statement. The beginning’s a little slow, but everything after the intermission is pretty much non-stop great

It had been bothering me SO MUCH that Estelle and Joshua weren’t in Zero’s opening flash-forward, but were there when we returned to that point... the reveal that it was actually a different goddamn timeline was immensely satisfying 

KeA’s powers in general are great. I love reality warpers

I absolutely knew from the moment I saw her that Mariabell would be no good. That is just an evil looking woman, right there 

The Grimwood twist felt a little last minute. Also, goddamnit, the ‘oh I didn’t ACTUALLY kill him I just made it LOOK like I did for no reason’ thing. Like why is this series so afraid to kill characters off (outside of backstories, because everyone is required to have a dead relative, obviously)

But speaking of dead relatives, I loved everything we saw of Guy Bannings. He reminds me a lot of Phoenix Wright, lol

It was really exciting to see my boy Kevin - I love his Japanese voice!

Oh and Olivier and Kloe and Mueller and Julia cameos, yesss!

Ries was also there and I like her just fine, but not as much as the rest. Sorry, Ries

So,

Lloyd: I really like Lloyd. Way more than Rean. I guess it’s that he feels like more his own person than a player avatar, and also doesn’t have multiple bullshit super powers. God do I hate Rean’s super powers. There’s also just the fact that I find lots of girls liking Lloyd way more believable than lots of girls liking Rean. Lloyd is cute, and sweet, and he’s kind of a huge dork, and he’s that very adorable combination of extremely smart and extremely dumb. Rean has the personality of a plastic bag, and is friends with multiple guys who are far hotter and more interesting than he is, and yet every girl wants him. It’s a blatant self-insert player fantasy 

Seriously. There is literally zero reason any of these girls would be into Rean when Gaius is right there. Gaius is just Rean but less whiny and much better looking

Anyway Lloyd is great

Elie: I still really love Elie, she’s just so consistently good, man. I’m glad she’s the ‘canon’ love interest, and I thought her confession scene was lovely - she and Lloyd are good together. I only wish there’d been more focus on how she felt about the Mariabell reveal

Randy: I liked Randy so much more in this game. His backstory was well handled, and his more annoying traits were toned down. I really enjoy his relationship to Lloyd, I think that’s excellent

Tio: Didn’t get to do as much in this game, shame, but still great. I’m assuming she’s the most popular Crossbell character, right? She’s very funny and I’m glad that the game acknowledges that the cult stuff is still traumatic for her to remember even after Joachim - it feels more realistic than ‘we defeated it and I’m better now!’

Noel: Uhhh... I don’t dislike Noel or anything, she’s just... kinda boring? Compared to the others? She was easily at her most interesting during her short time in the state guard, and then that was undone almost immediately. I wish that they’d kept that up

Wazy: Wazy’s my favourite Crossbell character. I have a weakness for the sassy long haired pretty boy archetype, I guess. I would have liked to see more interaction between him and Kevin. I love his relationship with Wald though, and I’m so glad the epilogue establishes that they go off together with Abbas after everything. I really didn’t want them to go their separate ways 

I thought it was... interesting that they specifically called attention to the fact that we never see him shirtless

Dudley: Underused in this game! More Dudley!

KeA: This girl deserves the world (no don’t give it to her Mariabell PUT IT BACK)

Arios: Aww, man. Poor Arios. I’d like to play like, a short spin off about his perspective on the story. I think he’s a fascinatingly complicated person

That’s something I really like about this game, by the way - none of the antagonists really change personality or temperament when their true natures are revealed. It just takes a different meaning in this context. I think that’s much better than total personality shift (it worked with Weissman, but it would suck if that’s how they did it all the time)

Shirley and her dad whose name I already forgot lol: Fine as accessories to Randy’s backstory. Don’t know why Rixia and Shirley had to have a rivalry. I’m assuming we’ll be seeing Shirley again. I know Fie mentions her in CS2

Rixia: Rixia’s another interesting one. Her backstory was really good. To be honest, she feels a *little* superfluous to me, but I don’t dislike her

Uhh, what else

Nice little cameos from Renne, Estelle and Joshua - noo, Pater-Mater!

I know why Anton and Ricky aren’t around but also :( 

Liked seeing Ellie and Armand from Rolent, though. That was nice

I knew Shizuku was going to get her sight back, because I know how stories work. I just didn’t know how it would happen, and I was prepared to hate it. I liked how it happened

Seriously I never want to hear the word barrier again

Trails to Azure is very good. I can’t believe I’m now more than halfway through this franchise

Man am I excited to go to Calvard, whenever that happens!

Oh, also I got a Liberl Bracer Guild t-shirt for Christmas, because I’m going Full Nerd for this series. I am extremely cool, you guys

[special-support-section]

So, as your title is "play trails", I feel like you're a good person to ask here - This is coming from someone who's still playing through First Chapter, but when I eventually want to move on to Trails of Zero/Azure, should I go with the geofront fan translation, or do you think they'll get a PS4 western release after Cold Steel IV comes out? (I don't think the azure translation is done yet, but I think by the time I finish trails in the sky, it probably will be.)

The fan translation is only a patch, you still have to buy/download the game from a japanese vendor, which is a hassle. You then have to set it up on a presumably English default pc, which is a hassle. You then have to set up the patch which luckily takes care of itself. If you want full voice acting you have to torrent the files and set them up which is a hassle. part of this is me being bad with computers but I should still mention it anyway, it is a pain in the ass at first.

all of this is what i did anyway and i'm really enjoying it. But considering that Ao/Zero were already remastered for PS4 and are getting switch ports now, odds are pretty good that they'll see western releases. not to mention that trails in the sky takes quite a bit of time. But yeah I would definitely bet on them getting western releases.

[monasatlantis]

My final Review for Trails of Zero and Trails of Azure and also my thoughts about the Trails-Saga so far as a whole

After finishing the Trails in the Sky games, also known as the Liberl-Arc I knew that if I wanted to be fully prepared for playing Trails of Cold Steel 4 myself (I’ve watched a lot from this game on YouTube with subtitles already…) I would have to play the Crossbell-Arc  (Zero and Azure) too and so that is what I did. I have to say I had mixed feelings from the beginning, because many people were Hyping the Crossbell-Games and I tend to be extremely disappointed by hyped games because they almost never met my expectations. However… it was for the greater good. And also for being able to give a overview over how I see the Trails-Games as a whole in the moment, as I have now played almost all the games that have come out so far.

So lets start with my review of Zero and Ao/Azure first…

1.      What is your overall opinion of the Crossbell-Saga games?

 Personally, I think Trails of Zero is among the two worst most boring games in the Trails-Saga so far. I couldn’t help but dislike it and its so called plot from the very beginning. When it comes to game-mechanics and battle-mechanics it was a trails-game so there was not that much to be bothered about, but when it comes to the plot or the characters or the way they were explored it was awful. The only game that is worse, is Trails in the Sky 3, which had the luxury that we already knew most of the characters so that we only had to be unnerved by Kevins and Ries questionable story while otherwise being at least already attached to the other characters and thus following their story anyway, even if it was not half as good as it could have been… IF you saw their story that is, but I digress.

On the other hand, Trails of Azure/Ao no Kiseki was done very well. The plot was indeed one of the best plots of a sole game. (As I personally thinks the deps of the Erebonia-Saga as a whole is better than the ones from Lilberl and Crossbell.) And since we already went through the phase of trying and failing to get to like the characters, but actually at least knew them and had formed some sort of small attachment to them in the previous game, it was easier to overlook the things certain points, since we just accepted it that it was the way it was and learned to enjoy what we had.

 2.      Lets get a little deeper into Zero… what was good and what was bad?

 Good, huh? Uh… ^^’ The only thing I really like about this game were the cameos of Estelle, Joshua and Renne. And I also adored KeA. That was basically it.

One of the main problems of Zero was how awfully badly the plot was delivered and how badly the characters were shown… or not shown. We start with Lloyd who technically speaking has a really interesting story. He was raised by his older brother and the woman said older brother loved for most of his live and said brother, who had worked by the police has been murdered and his murder became a cold case. Now that Lloyd is finally working for the police too, he… gives a damn about any chance for him to solve his brothers murder-case. Like… he never seemed interested in doing that at all. The first thing he should have done after he started working for the police, was actually to take a look at the file of his brothers murder and ask around the police to find any kind of information or evidence about what could have happened to him. (His name was Guy, by the way. Who calls his child Guy?) He never did that. In chapter 4, when the first game was almost over we suddenly found out that like half the people we had regular contact with actually knew Guy or had worked with him and suddenly I wasn’t so sure anymore about Lloyds and Guys relationship. Did he never mention the names of the people he worked with? And why did Sergei hide the fact that he has been working with Guy for so long? Why didn’t Grace or Arios ever think of mentioning that they also knew Guy or worked with him in all the times we meet them before chapter 4? Then again, if Lloyd had asked about him, he might have found out early. Or if he actually had a decent relationship with his brother, this man might have told him. I mean… isn’t it weird? In Ao/Azure its shown that Guy wanted to invite Arios to his wedding… an brag about his brother and you want to tell me that Lloyd never either heard about that man nor ever meet him in Crossbell together with his brother? Seems very weird. The characters as a whole felt extremely… empty in Zero. I can’t explain it fully, but I just couldn’t start to like them or bond with them, because the games made them focus so much on their job as the SSS that you never felt like they were actually people you could relate to. Like they had those problems in their lifes, but we always just scratched on the surface of their lifes and the problems they had. Also… in both Sky and Cold Steel family was really important to every character, even if the family wasn’t blood related, a huge part of must characters character-arcs were connected to how important their families were for them, no matter how hard the circumstances surrounding those families were. And in Zero it seemed like family was so not important to those characters. I absolutely get Randy here, because his family raised him to be a person who sacrificed a whole village for a job, even tho in this village was a person he liked. BUT everyone else was weird for me. As I said, Lloyd (despite stating otherwise later in Ao/Azure) has never shown much interest in finding out anything about his brother or his murder, despite the fact that he had been so close to all the information he needed the whole time. Elie showed in that talk with Lloyd that she was bothered by the fact that her parents both abandoned her and yet she never (until Cold Steel 4 – funny enough) showed any interest in facing them. Even tho it was shown by the game that she loved her grandfather, the game totally failed to deliver it to look like she was really attached to him. I mean, in Sky Tita was traveling around with Estelle a lot and yet, it was absolutely clear that she loved her grandfather nuts AND also missed her parents. (Until they came back suddenly and gave Agathe a hard time that is XD Were it was yet again shown, that despite being separated for a long time, they had a really close relationship. But once again, I digress…) Tio had been a missing child that has been through hell and when she was return to her parents she actually was different and since that was making it difficult she left her parents again. I never really got if it was really fine for her parents that she left or if she herself decided that it was best that way. Which is already a really bad thing without even mentioning how unsatisfying it was that once again, apparently Tios interest in her family seemed really small.

Now don’t start with the “The whole point of this game was that the SSS became a family” because that didn’t really work either, because the game never really spend that much time giving the characters a real time to bond with each other in Zero. When I reached Elies final bonding event I felt like it came out of nowhere, because I never had the feeling that Lloyd got over his awkward “Elie and me? Never!” – stage or that they gotten close enough for an almost kiss at all. (Never had that problem in Cold Steel, although here the bonding events over the course of the game might have helped a lot… but I also think even without the bonding events the bonds between the characters developed really well, dating aside, because here only Alisa had the advantage, but I will digress again if I don’t stop here… ^^’) But lovestorys aside (since I am really picky with them) I also do not feels that the friendship between the characters was so well develop in the game. Obviously they all being doting parents to KeA helped a lot here with making them look more closer, but a child should not be the only-bonding-point between them. And here we come to an example for why the bonding between those characters worked so bad. In Cold Steel (yes, I am going there now…) we had that canon-event with Rean and Alisa exchanging they problems, hopes and wished in Nord while looking at the nightsky. So we had Lloyd and Elie on the rooftop together and Elie was opening up about her life, her past, her feelings and problems…. and Lloyd? Even when Elie mentioned that he has his own problems, he didn’t open up to her. He didn’t tell her how he was raised by his brother, how he is chasing after becoming like him instead of chasing after his murderer, since it was an unsolved case and so on. So the difference in those scenes were, that while Alisa and Rean were both open and honest to each other Lloyd was a great listener but failed to actually help by opening up himself and show trust with that. And that is how this whole game went. In the end of Zero, the SSS didn’t feel half as close as it should have been and would have been if the game would have spent more time with serious bonding.

Through most of this game, I was desperately searching for the plot. Because I was refusing to believe that besting the bracers was the plot, because damn was that a stupid idea and a huge ass fail too. Most of the chapters (even the final chapter itself – which becomes even more clear after Ao/Azure) ended with us being almost killed if no one had come to help/save us. Starting with the Prolog itself. And despite that, until KeA showed up, Lloyd had been simply too proud to ask the bracers for help. It pissed me off so much! Honestly, we’ve been bracers in Sky, we’ve been friends with bracers in Cold Steel, were we also learned how important and great bracers are and in Zero they tried to make you want to be “better” than the bracers. Which was a huge fail not just because of how incapable the SSS was, but also because they brought Estelle and Joshua back, because if we just had the somehow arrogant bracers of Crossbell, wanting to best them would have become a given at some point, even for a player like me, but after those two joined the bracers, there was no freaking way that I would have been able to want to beat them anyone. So as much as I loved Estelle and Joshua being there… I also think it was a very stupid move. Especially since in the end, the most interesting part of the story (also the only one that really found a conclusion in this game) was Rennes backgroundstory and how she found her way back to Estelle and Joshua. The only other interesting thing was KeA and that was never solved in the first game AND she was also introduced far too late in this game.

A lot of potential was wasted in this game. Like Lloyd should have started to hear KeAs voice long before we actually found her, because that would have been something to make the plot interesting. Make you want to find out what is going on. Then again, it was never fully explained why only Lloyd could hear KeAs voice anyway… such a damn waste.

 3.      Now to Ao/Azure! What was good, what was bad?

 A lot of the things from the first game didn’t really change, but I was already used to them and they were buried under a really interesting plot this time and as the plot was also delivered so much better this time, it changed really a lot for how much I enjoyed playing the game. Much less wasted potential. They were going all out with the plot this time and things like KeA acting weird/bothered/unhappy started much, much earlier and with that gave you a good reason to be interested and stay interested. They handled the return of characters from the other games so much better this time too. Honestly? In Zero all I wanted to do was see Estelle and Joshua again and I think this also blocked any chance for me to start liking the other characters as they were so boring and their storys so… boring and then we got Estelle and Joshua, who we knew and loved and who had such an important mission… of course they were more important and more interesting than Lloyd who didn’t give a damn about the question who killed his brother. In Ao/Azure these characters were kind of coming and going in an extremely powerful but satisfying way. People who know me know very well that I love Olivert and was the happiest player in the world for him showing up in Ao and also having a side-mission and lots of screentime in chapter 2 of Ao. And although I found it a bit sad that we couldn’t say goodbye to him and Kloe, all in all they came for a reason and left after what they had to do was done and it felt really satisfying. Honestly, tho? Osborne totally stole the show in this chapter. Kudos to how they handled him in this chapter. You could feel his enormous aura through the screen and the impression they already wanted to give you in Sky, which was that this man is a real monster, really came across as well as what a genius he was. When Olivert was shocked that Osborn used the Red-Constellation in the name of the Empire, he used the excuse that he wanted to protect Olivert (which was in fact part of the contract as Sigmund mentioned earlier) to justify it and the Emperor would have totally understand that and that was one of the ways to show what a genius he was. I also loved the difference between how Rocksmith had been handling the SSS and how Osborne did. He doesn’t need to get them on his side, because he can crush them and that is exactly what he warned them about in a way that was too friendly to be threatening although it had clearly been a threat. I am not a fan of this man (Reans father or not…) but he was really amazing in this chapter but especially in this whole scene with the SSS.

Also really, the secret star of this game was Lechter XD Showing up in the most unexpected times, doing the weirdest things from the beginning to the end. Even showing off that damn, this man is a fighter and he looks cool when he does fight. And I love how in the end, you never know why the hell he works for Osborne as he never sounded like he really liked to work for him, although it was clear at the end that he was very well aware of how capable this man is with his plans and how well they usually work.

However… this game had a lot of great and amazing plottwist and also the usual traitors, traitors who return to our side, never really were traitors and also of course the bad guys who will be forgiven no matter what bullshit they pulled. A true Trails game.

Honestly, even the side characters were so much easier to fall in love with this time. I was so shocked when Ilya was hurt and I cried when Rixia screamed her name. When the game showed you how guilty the characters felt that were protected and thus not badly or just a little bit hurt, it was really emotional. And really realistic. I liked it a lot.

Also… the intermezzo. Total fanservice, really. And yet it was really amusing and a great chance to spend more time with the side-characters that you didn’t spend much time with during the usual plot. I also loved how those useless Urgent-Missions vanished in the end, because in Zero most of the time, they didn’t have anything to do with the game. Why the hell did I have to find that girls Umbrella again? And how can that be an urgent mission?

But while I am at it, here is still some critic. I hated how a lot of information’s that were important for the plot were revealed in side-missions or even hidden-missions. I played non of them and when I had to watch the final from a lets player because of technical reasons I was constantly like “What?”, when all the things were revealed that he got, do to the fact that he played all Support-Requests and Hidden-Missions and got so much more information’s over certain situations and characters do to that. Don’t get my wrong, I think it is great if those missions are not just boring but also give you valuable information, but there is a difference between valuable information’s and stuff that should have been mentioned in the main-plot because you need them to get things. Lloyd often all of the sudden was like: “WAIT! You did these and that, right?” And I never got how he suddenly reached that conclusion, because I missed some important information that were given by missions I didn’t do, because I didn’t had too. If missions have important information, than for gods sake game, force me to do them!

I found that Wald was a weird plot-device that didn’t really… made much use to the story? It was kind of an motivation for Wazy but a questionable one and one that was somehow unnecessary. It felt like they just needed to do something with this man.

Also… uh… KeA just gave up her powers and that was so anti-climatic? At least I would have wished it would not have been so easy for her to do it. Or if she would have sacrificed them to… I don’t know, do something useful. Don’t get me wrong! It was good and right that her powers are gone now (tho looking at CS4 there are some remnants there…) but I just would have wished the way she gave her powers away would have been a bit more interesting or dramatic.

 4.      Any thoughts about the music and the game-mechanics or battle-system?

 Sadly, I couldn’t hear the music with the game but I listened to the OSTs and they were both good. (Not as good as the one from Trails of Cold Steel 3 tho, but that one is hard to beat…)

I didn’t really like how you had no idea how you gathered bonding points. The final bonding event with Elie in the first game was a lucky draw. I chose her to be Lloyds partner every time because I am a shipper with heart and soul, but I was feeling bad about neglecting Tio and Randy and almost didn’t chose Elie for the last one. The game could have at least told me that some of my decisions would influence the bonding with the other characters – I am so damn spoiled by Cold Steel XD - and in the second game I did relay completely on a walkthrough to get enough bonding points with Elie and yet still thought I fucked it up until I got the invitation to the deck ^^’

I totally loved those Combi-Crafts. They were great and I would have loved to also have them in Cold Steel (but I guess we have the Link-Attacks there as an replacement…)

I wished I could have auto-fight or at least a way to make the fights go faster. Grinding was so not possible the slow way this was going.

Holy shit was it impossible to use the Masters-Quarz from Ao/Azure to their full potential because it was so hard to level them up. Much easier in Cold Steel.

 5.      The ending of Ao/Azure, what do you think about it?

 I found both the ending of Zero and Ao/Azure a tiny bit rushed in a way. Like… we hardly get any explanation or an after-credits scene. And the explanation in Ao/Azure was a fucking huge Spoiler. The game tells you that Osborn is alive and won the fight against the noble fraction in the civil war and that he also took over Crossbell for 2 years. Like… uh… when you play CS… this is like some huge ass things to ponder about and if you had played this game before (which you should) you would have known all this already ^^’ Still… I liked how they had the final picture of them standing under the flag of an now independent Crossbell (probably after CS4) after the whole Epilogue-Information felt like we left Crossbell at a really bad time and that this way, it somehow was a unfinished game. But, as we know now… Lloyd and Co. take care of that problem in CS4, so its fine.

 6.      Points for both games?

 4,5 of 10 points for Trails of Zero, because it was fucking bad!

9 of 10 points for Trails of Azure, because it was really good and had just a few flaws. (CS3, by the way, got the same amount of points…)

 A little overview over what I think of the Trails-Saga so far, now that I have played all games currently available to me (aside from CS4 which I have almost completely spoiled for myself anyway at this point XD) follows now. So be aware of SPOILERS!

 7.      Looking at all 9 games that came out so far, what do you think about the Trails-Saga as a whole?

 Something I’ve realized with shock when I’ve been puzzling the pieces of all the games together is how much the Liberl-Arc is actually an outsider here. How it doesn’t feel very important anymore as soon as you move on from the Sky games. Despite the fact that Ouroboros was much more involved in what happened to Liberl than in what happened in Crossbell, it still feels like Liberl is just not half as important as this small town and his two-games. Somehow it feels a bit like the Liberl-Arc was more to introduce certain characters (and Ouroboros) to the player then actually having a huge importance to the actual Trails – Saga as a whole. Of course I know that what Campanella gained from the Liberl-Arc will be important at some point of the Trails-Saga but looking at Cold Steel I think Crossbell is much more prominent and also more important to the Erebonia-Arc (which is huge!) which is not just shown by the connection between those two places, but also by how Rean interacts with Lloyd and how much he seems to honor him for some reason. While Estelle and Joshua, are just some good bracers that helped to solve that one incident in Liberl, Rean seems to have a huge amount of respect for Lloyd and what he did for his hometown.

They of course do have a lot of similarities that connect them somehow, I get that. But in Cold Steel 4, I found the meeting of Rean and Estelle and Joshua so anti-climatic while the one with Lloyd was such a huge deal. I think that we lag a connection between Liberl and Erebonia here. The only thing connecting us to Liberl in the first two Cold Steel games was Olivert, who doesn’t even belong there, but was just traveling through it. Funny enough, what they give us in CS3 is the age-gape-ship – do not get my wrong, I am so not complaining, but I am sure a lot of other western fans are – purely relying on the power of shippings here XD Honestly, it would have been possible to make that work without Tita. By having Shera become a teacher alongside Rean and Randy (instead of hiding her in Erebonia until CS4…) and having Agathe as a Bracer helping out Fie, Sarah and Toval like he usually does. But they had to give us that ship, simply for the reason that shippings always go, if you ask me. But without thinking that a bracer falling for a young girl wasn’t exactly the best representation for Liberl. Once again, do not get me wrong. Both Tita and Agathe are amazing characters. He is a strong bracer and she is an extremely talented and courageous engineer at her very young age. And I personally do treasure their relationship and how it evolved. Okay… I actually love it and supporting the ship with all my might. Yet, looking at how badly ships like that are received in western countries, taking those two as represents for the Liberl arc is questionable at best.

I get it. In CS3 they wanted to form a connection to both the Sky games and Ao/Zero without already giving us the main-characters of those two games because they would have stolen the show XD So they gave us Randy and Tio for Crossbell, with Randy of course being a more prominent person as a colleague of Rean and also a more than capable fighter that also got a connection with Shirley who is working with Ouroboros now. And then they give us Tita and Agathe for Liberl… and you can not help but question the choice. I mean… everyone loved Tita because just like KeA, she was so loveable. And now she turned into a teenager that suddenly is aware that just saying “I love Agathe so much” is not something she should do anymore without giving it a second thought. Agathe suddenly being much more flustered about the teasing from others because obviously its not that unlikely anymore that there are romantic feelings involved here. So… that is our connection to the Liberl-Arc. An Age-Gape-Ship that is not together yet... but too close to thinking about being in love with each other for the likes of most western players. For me as a fan of that ship, it is of course a good choice… but for representing the Liberl-Arc it stays a rather questionable choice if you think about it. Especially since Shera was nearby the whole time and wasn’t shown once and only mentioned close to the end. I feel like that was a choice purely made for evolving Tita and Agathe as a ship somehow and show how those two characters and their relationship has changed in the meantime. Especially with Tita being suddenly self-conscious and also looking at that we go from the Sister-Zone to “For me you are…” in the short span from the beginning of CS3 to the middle of CS4. However… yes… I digress again. I can not help but feel like the Liberl-Arc (despite being a good arc) is less important to the overall plot of the Trails-Saga as a whole. Like… most of the Ouroboros-Guys from this arc are either currently no were to be seen or dead… or on the good-side XD Cassius is showing up for 5 minutes, looking like the powerful guy he became somehow and then he is gone again in Cold Steel 4. Its like he was just introduced to be mentioned every now and then in the other games so you would think: “Ohhhhh!” XD Well… at least he lets Rean become a Swordmaster in the end. He must do something useful at least once in all this games that claim he is a big-shot despite him never being there when actually needed. So he wasn’t really important in the other games either, despite the fuss that was always made about him. So… yeah. Liberl was really just to introduce us to the Trails-Saga and some more or less important characters as well as Ouroboros I think.

Crossbell was used the give Ourobors more people that work for them it seems XD Also, Red-Constellation and Zephir was even mentioned. And then it is in a place that Reans biological father takes over and even uses Rean for that, giving him a feeling of guilt when he thinks of Lloyd who just did what Rean would have done in his stead too, by trying to save Crossbell. Also… in Reans Class was someone from Crossbell (Juna – although we never met her in the Crossbell-saga) but no one from Liberl. Once again, giving that small place called Crossbell a bigger hand. The connection to Erebonia, by the way, and also the way Osborn is mentioned and even shown in both sagas is very huge. As a neightbor of both countries that has the biggest military in the whole Zermuria it was constantly shown in both Liberl and Crossbell as a possible enemies that is threatening them and should be feared. Osborn is mentioned multiple times as a very dangerous and very powerful man and not seldom even as a monster. When he is shown, (which happens in both the Liberl- and the Crossbell-Arc) he fulfills the expectations and shows very well that whatever or whoever stands in his way, will be crushed ultimately. There is no such character in either the Liberl- or Crossbell-Arc that get mentioned or shown so extremely in any of the other games. The Crossbell-Saga, in my eyes, was mostly to show you the people of the City that Osborn uses as a play-toy in his plans so that you feel bad for them, when you reach the part in Cold Steel were Crossbell get annexed and then ruled by someone like Rufus of all people. Also introducing Rean to Lloyd and later having Juna in his class, who adores, fully trusts and supports the SSS makes his feeling of guilt for what Osborn forced him to do in Crossbell even worse. So looking it all that, it seems a little bit like the Crossbell-Saga was a stage that prepared the stage for Osborn and Rean as the major forces of the 4 games long Cold Steel – Saga.

Cold Steel is big and covers a huge span of time (although we had a big time-jump between CS2 and CS3 and also at least one to two months have passed between CS1 and CS2 as well as CS3 and CS4…) and finally deals with the country with the strongest military as well as with the man Osborn himself. With a game as big as this one, we of course get a huge amount of characters as well. Ever single one of them has somehow an important position in Erebonia one way or another. As Rean the main character alone is not just the adoptive-son of a man from the lower-nobility, but also (as it turned out later) the biological son of no other than chancellor Osborn himself (although they were hiding that fact) and became the Ashen Chevalier at the end of the first game. We also have people like Alisa, who is the heir of the Reinford-Company – which is by the way a name that also hear multiple times over the course of the other games, especially in connection with weapons. Jusis, the son of the Duke of one of the four great houses. Emma as being part of the Hexan-Clan and also the “sister” of Vita, who is the second Anguis of Ouroboros. And so on. Even Reans own Class 7 in CS3/CS4 is anything than boring. Although just a commoner, Juna is from Crossbell and was teached at the police academy from no other then our Ironblood Claire Riveld and is also a huge supporter of the SSS. Kurt is the youngest son of the Vanders and with that not just the son and nephew of two huge military-mans, but also the brother of our dearly beloved Mueller Vander, protector and best friend of Prince Olivert and thus of course also known in the royal family of Erebonia. Ash is one of only 3 survivors (technically only two survivors, now that Loewe is dead…) of the nightmare that was the Hamel-incident. And Musse… well… she is… much bigger then she looks like. Besides those main characters we also have guest characters like Princess Alfin the Erebonian-Princess herself. And oh look, Lechter is here too. Even Ouroboros steps up their game in Cold Steel. Adding more and more Enforcers to their Phantasmal Place Plan in the huge state that is called Erebonia. We get our Fool Campanella (the only one who actually shows up in person in all 3 Arcs), we have Phantom Thieve B (who was mentioned in all 3 games, but never showed up in person in Crossbell), the Steel Maiden and her Knights (who were first shown in Crossbell) as well as Vita and McBurn but also Shirley and Mariabell (who both joined Ouroboros around the Crossbell-Saga and were also very present in that arc) which already makes a huge damn amount of Villians or Semi-Villians (as Vita at some point as well as B are at least temporarily joining Team-Rean for a while…) for one Arc. And yet, we get another group of enemies (the Gnomes) added to the list, alongside a few Jeager-Corpses. And although we have plenty of active characters in the Cold Steel-Saga already, yet we also added Randy, Tio, Tita and Agathe as temporary party-members to the game in CS3. Still not enough? You are missing your best friends Estelle, Joshua, Renne, Lloyd, Elie and KeA from the previous installments? Fear not! We add them in Cold Steel 4 were we also have reacurring Guest-Characters like Sully and Grace from the Crossbell-Games. Shera will finally show up as well and did I mention the part in CS4 were Kloe, Cassius and even President Rocksmith joined the game for a short amount of time? And did I tell you that we don’t just travel through Erebonia in this games, but also go to Crossbell? Boy is that game huge! And probably the most important installment of the Series so far.

 Now… lets look at this a little closer…

 8.      The maps of Liberl, Crossbell and Erebonia had different sizes which size was best and which was worst?

 I would say the best size had Liberl. It was not too big but not too small either.

Erebonia (especially after also adding Crossbell to the places we visit do to it being part of Erebonia at that point) was far to huge. Crossing the whole of Erebonia by food like we did with Liberl and Crossbell? Absolut impossible! I mean we had 4 games and managed to visit different places almost in every of those 4 games. Erebonia is simply too huge! No wonder that they needed Trains for traveling.

Crossbell was a little bit too small. After playing Cold Steel before, it was sooo boring to run around the same places the whole time for most of those two games. When I started playing this game, I was lost immediately, because Crossbell as a City is huge. But in the first chapter of Ao I would have found my way from Downtown to St.Ursula Hospital blind.

 9.      As you mentioned yourself, Erebonia has the most characters, but Liberl did have a hand full of characters more then Crossbell. Which is the better amount in the end?

 Funny enough I had absolutely no problem to love almost all the Characters from Cold Steel, despite the fact that we were like 9 main characters from the start. But I would say that even for 4 games, we just have a few too many characters in Cold Steel, although the games handled them extremely well all the time. So I can not really criticizes it.

However, while I found it boring with as much as 4 main characters in the first Crossbell-Game and at least 6 in the last Crossbell-Game, but also just too less side-characters to love and enemies to hate, I think that the Liberl-Arc did best with its amount of characters both main- and side-characters. Although they overdid it a bit in Sky 3 with the amount of main characters (but lets not talk about what a huge fail that game was…) with adding characters like Annalace and Richard while we already had people like Kevin and Ries as constant party-Members.

 10.  Best Soundtrack of all the Trails games so far? (Including CS4)

 As I mentioned before it is definitely Trails of Cold Steel 3. The soundtrack is huge and amazing. I listened to it a lot while playing the Crossbell-Games.

 11.  Best Main Character?

 Rean. Rean. Rean… and did I mention that it is Rean? Yes, absolutely and with no doubt Rean. Followed by Estelle as a wonderfully badass female-main-character full of love, cheerfulness and energy. I do not want to put Lloyd in third place, but I do put him in the last place as he was not half as good or interesting or amazing or cool or amusing as Rean or Estelle.

 12.  Best Character of the whole Trails-Saga?

 Prince Olivert Reise Arnor (also known as Oliver Lenheim) without any doubt. Best character ever.

 13.  Best Side-Kick-Animal?

 I can not decide. I love Celine and I also loved Sieg and I also loved Zeit. They were all 3 very amazing and a great addition to their respective games. Tho I love Celines sassiness probably the most XD

 14.  Top 5 Shippings of all the Trails-Games?

 Huh… uh… okay… that one is hard because I have to decide between the best portrait ship, actual canon or harem-choice-ships and somehow they choices are too much and yet too small.

First place is Rean and Alisa because it’s just so damn perfect for being technically-speaking a Harem-Choice-ship. But what makes them perfect is the fact that their shipping is only technically-speaking a choice. Falcom doesn’t make it look like a choice at all XD Starting with the picture perfect meeting, Reans overprotective-instincts leading to this embarrassing closeness a little too early in their relationship, to them exchanging their fears and wishes under the starlit nightsky, to the heart to heart speech in Alisas home, followed by jealousy and apologizes of its finest after Reans “accidental date” with Claire, to the words that are said if you chose Alisa as your dance-partner, directly to the first heartbreaking reunion hug, the fact that they’ve meet once before as Children with Rean being the night in shining armor here who saved a lost Alisa, over to Rean absolutely not complaining about Alisa sitting in his lap in one of their bonding-events, to the fact that Alisa is the only Girl who gets a Kiss in her final bonding event in CS2, moving on with another long desired, very intimate reunion-hug and Rean admitting that he enjoyed the hug later on when confronted by his students, going to their cuddle-moment on the Rooftop of Reans school, over to Alisa being jealous of “fluffy mint” in their team-phone call going to once again being the only one receiving a kiss in her final bonding event in CS3 and even with them basically breaking up because of Alisas guilt do to her parents involvement in Reans situation after a desperate last hug from behind, going over to Rean not giving up on them and finally spending the night with each other before the final fight, with Alisa going down on her knees begging Rean not to leave her when he sacrifices himself and finally with them being close to each other a lot at Oliverts wedding. It could not be more perfect.

Second place just has to be Estelle and Joshua. From the fact that this ship is canon… like really canon, not actually “Falcom wants them to be canon” – Canon, it should be in the first place, but I just love Rean and Alisa so much more. Anyway… Joshua and Estelle were perfect from the beginning to the end. Be it the moment as a child when Joshua decided to stay with Estelle instead of leaving because he realized how much he loved her. Be it the fact that Estelle wasn’t even conscious of his feelings for her for a long time an did things like feeding each other. Over to the moment she finally became jealous of all the woman who really liked Joshua. Not even ending with this awful excuse of a first kiss and the fact that he carried her to his bed after he made her lose consciousness instead of letting her lay on the castle-rooftop until someone finds her. Even with Joshua pretending to be over Estelle, while closely watching her and making sure she was save in secret and then only needing a hug from her to be reminded that right next to her is were he belongs. Of course their amazing second-first-kiss and them almost dying in each other’s arm. With him loosing his temper when Estelle was almost hurt by Wald and with them both going from place to place to find Renne and finally make her part of their family. A wonderfully perfect lovestory.

Third place was taken by Agathe and Tita somehow between Agathe saving Tita in the first Sky game and rescuing her together with Rean and Co. in Cold Steel 4. I loved how he was owned by her in just such a short amount of time. It was hardly a chapter between him telling her she was not allowed to join them because she was a liability and him not being able to tell her joining them was a no-go because she started crying and he just can not stand that. I just love how Tita won Agathes heart by caring for him when he was sick and hurt, even tho she was still a child and he was already a grown man, one of the strongest bracers in Liberl no less. I just loved how she said she loved him when he almost overdid it in his fight with the dragon. I loved how happy and relieved she was when they finally found him in Sky 3 and that her teary hug was all that was needed for Agathe to not doubt for one second that he was just dreaming that weird place up – not to mention the teasing that followed after that. I loved the freaking Trails-Trademark-Headpat at the beginning of CS3, when Agathe told her how grown up and independent she became and still telling her that if something happens she should tell him and he will be there immediately. I loved how he somehow always seemed to be close to wherever the schools field-trips took her so that he could get immediately in action if something was wrong. I loved how EVERYONE is teasing Agathe about his relationship with Tita. I love how Tita became self-conscious but is still aware that revealing her true feelings for Agathe has yet to wait a little longer. I love how she can hug him as long as she wants, despite the teasing he has to live through afterwards. I love how he rushes to her side in the final fight in CS3 and swears to protect her no matter what. I love how he tells Rean that he can not allow Tita to go into mixed bathing with anyone else besides Class 7. (Which is funny, as Rean, by all means, is the most dangerous male character for any girl in this game… XD I mean it) after actually revealing that in the end, he doesn’t feel the same way for Tita as he did for his sister and even saying that she became very pretty. I also love that when he rescues her with Rean and his team, he realizes that he uses the promise he made to Titas family as an excuse and actually really, truly wants to protect her even tho he has yet to finish his “for me, you are…” sentence with the words “the most important person”, but we are getting there. I love how all the things they will do together on the day before the final fight are actually things couples would do. (Riding the farris Wheel together? Having a walk on the beach together? Romantic anyone?) I love how it seems the only reason they were part of CS3 was to show us how their relationship has progressed since that faithful day when Agathe took a bullet for Tita.

These are actually the only ships I really love. If I absolutely have to finish the top 5 then on fourth Place there would be Olivert and Shera… they do fit extremely well but I have no idea when them falling actually in love with each other really happened so it feels a bit weird at times. Fifth place would probably be Millium and Jusis. A ship that I didn’t see coming but I liked it and enjoyed the few small moments we had. If I had to add any ships from the Crossbell-Saga I would give Lloyd and Elie the next position, followed by Randy and Mirellei for some reason that I can not explain.

 15.  Who from Ouroboros do you like the most?

 Vita, obviously. I also kind of gotten used to Campanella at this point and would miss him if he wouldn’t show up in Calvard XD I would maybe somehow like Thieve B but I hate his riddles so I probably won’t XD

 16.  Which Arc should a new player start with?

 Personally I think starting with Cold Steel is not a bad idea, but starting with Sky is possible too, as they spoiler basically nothing for each other. I personally would say to play Cold Steel before Crossbell, because Crossbell spoils a huge part of the plot of CS2. Although I fear that after loving Reans  Team and Estelles Team before it is almost impossible to learn to love Lloyds Team… at least that was my experience.

17. Any ideas what might happen next?

No. But I do think that at the end of the Trails-Series we will see the Grahlsritter fighting and propably winning against Ouroboros. Why I think that? We had a Grahlsritter in all of the Trails-Arcs so far. The game got to great lengths even to make sure we do not forget our Kevin from Trails in the Sky. Wazy is our Dominion from the Crossbell-Saga and Gaius is the one from the Erebonia-Saga. We propably get one from Calvard too and honestly? I wouldn’t be surprised if even one is among the Ouroboros guys somehow. I mean, Trails games are Traitor-Games, if you get what I mean. So why not a Traitor among the bad guys too?

[thegreatpikminzx789]

Yggdrasil’s Nexus: Prologue (Chapter 6) - Etrian Odyssey Nexus Fanfiction

Wattpad|Fanfiction.Net (Will upload later)|Ao3

Summary: Axel takes Korey and Hilda around their guild house. Of course, the Highlander is excited to tell Lynus the good news, so when the opportunity presented itself, so did several others...

Previous Chapter|Next Chapter (Not available yet)

AN: This one actually took a while, mostly because I was playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Still gotta play it more, though), and because I had fun playing as The Dragon Quest Hero in Smash Ultimate. This is probably the biggest chapter I’ve written though, so it took some time. Hope you enjoy as always!

Azure, Axel, Lynus, Isiah, Hamza, and mentions of Zesiro, Drayce, the Angelward Guild, and Phaedron Guild (c) @theshatteredrose

Edit: 7/31/2019: I had to put this under a Keep Reading when I was about to head to sleep, and had to fix the tag as usual. Ugh, guess Fire Emblem Three Houses was more important than making sure everything was set up correctly... =_=

"Your guild is going to be that of a 'search and rescue' type of guild?" Hilda inquired, as she stepped past the guild houses' dinning hall, following Axel alongside Korey and Simon.

Axel nodded in response to Hilda's question. "We figured that if that's what it'll come to, we'll do so."

They take a detour to what seemed like a back porch of the guild house. Although they don't enter it entirely, Axel allowed Korey and Hilda a quick look at it, before walking on. The chatter of the other guild members of the Guardians was nearly distracting. And although two parts of the guild was familiar to Korey, they were all but strangers to someone like Hilda.

"Our guild is getting quite bigger, we'll more than likely find it easier to disperse groups of five for those types of missions." The Landsknecht continued, as soon as they were away from the noisy hallway.

"You're telling me." Korey began as he scratched his head. "I feel as if I'm in the same boat as you and Lynus with how many members I've gathered." He chuckled nervously.

Simon adjusted his glasses a bit, before chiming in. "Although to be fair, you never went above thirty guild members, let alone max out a guild to that size before."

The brown haired Highlander simply nodded in response, which was a huge relief to Simon. "Getting back to the topic at hand, it'll certainly be safer on the Maginia with a guild of a size like this to look over everyone." Simon continued.

"Yeah, most people probably wouldn't handle up to sixty guild members..." Axel admitted, making sure Azure was still following him. When he was sure he was, he continued walking, making their way back to the entrance of the guild house.

"But it seems like we're the only ones tolerable enough to put up with that many." Korey admitted, to which gave the landsknecht and highlander a good laugh for a couple of seconds.

"On another matter," Hilda intervened. "This Lemuria you speak of... is that our destination?"

A fair question to be asked, since they weren't told as much when they entered the Maginia. "Indeed it is." Axel answered confidently.

"With this many explorers on the Maginia, it seems that they were anticipating a new journey, even if it took them far away from home. It's an island, however, and though with that in mind, we don't know what it looks like, let alone know what kind of things lie there." He continued, noting that even the Guardians have little idea on what it looks like apart from what they know of it.

Korey  placed his hands behind his head nonchalantly. "Sounds to me like we're heading off to some faraway territory..." He sighed, trying to focus back on the topic at hand.

The landsknecht simply nodded, before slowing down to a halt as he turned to Korey. "Yeah. It almost reminds me of that time we went to that thirty-first floor of High Lagaard's Yggdrasil to help save you and a guild member of ours from dying from a powerful creature."

Hilda couldn't believe what she heard from the Landsknecht's mouth. "He did what?!" She exclaimed, turning to Korey in the blink of an eye, which caused him to flinch back in surprise.

"I-It's a long story, Hilda-" Korey tried to explain.

"Honey, you knew it was strong, and yet you faced it regardless?! Are you insane?!" Hilda retorted, long before Korey could begin to explain.

Hilda tried to grab at Korey's clothes to bring him closer to her, but was stopped by Simon's arm intervening. "Hilda, please, there's no need to panic." The silver haired medic began, trying to ease the tension Hilda had suddenly built up.

Her anger induced eyes all but quelled at seeing Simon's calm and collective eyes. Before she knew it, she was calming down a bit. "B-But-" She stuttered, only to be silenced even further by Simon.

"It's like I said many times before; Lynus and his guild were in good hands. If Korey was able to stop something like the Ur-Devil, alongside a well known guild in High Lagaard, he can surely stand up to anything. He's endured as much from what he's told me, including whatever was beyond Iorys' Yggdrasil." As Simon explained, Hilda soon felt regret for lashing out at her husband like that.

She lets out a sigh, seeming to have calmed down from her anger outburst. Simon retracted his arm, and Azure soon came out from hiding behind Axel. "You're right, Simon..." Hilda began, looking at everyone looking at her, before tilting her head down a bit.

"I apologize for my outburst. I just got scared the moment I heard that my beloved faced something powerful..." She continued, trying her best not to let tears burst from her eyes.

Korey slowly approached Hilda and wrapped his arms around her, as the Arken woman placed her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around him. "It's alright, Hilda..." Korey spoke reassuringly, his calm voice reaching her ears as she felt him pat her back.

Simon, Axel, and Azure were left watching the Highlander comfort his alien wife as constant sniffles escaped Hilda's nose, despite trying her best to hold in her tears. "Although Ur-Devil was more powerful than that monster that killed your kind, I'm still here, alive and much stronger than I was before. I won't be dying on you or anyone else anytime soon..." He continued, doing all he can to calm her down.

Wiping her face of any tiny tears that escaped her eyes, she looks up at the Highlander. "You better keep to that promise, dear..." She sniffled, insisting he better not die on her, or their children.

Korey nodded, but felt more inclined to show his answer than to speak it. His hands trailed to interlock with Hilda's hands, as they stare into each other's eyes for a while, before they gave each other a quick kiss on the lips. If only he could just stay in her arms forever-

"Come on you two," Simon's voice called out to the lovebirds, seeing that Axel and Azure were waiting for them, along with the Midgard Medic. "You wouldn't want to be late for the rest of the tour."

"Gah, sorry Simon, we're coming!" Korey responded, as he and Hilda held each other's hand as they catch up to the three of them.

After arriving back at the entrance, Axel and Azure head up a spiral staircase of sorts. The others follow close behind him, arriving on the second floor of the guild house, stepping off of the stairs to enter the hallway. "And this is where our guild members stay in." Axel began.

"Me and Lynus' room is right in the middle, and Azure's room is just next to us.." He added, pointing towards the rooms he mentioned. "Why choose the middle room?" Hilda inquired, a little confused on their choice of picking the middle room.

Axel, thankfully, was more than glad to explain their reasoning. "You see, Lynus' is a little special. He's capable of reading auras of others." The landscknecht began.

"He can read auras?" Hilda marveled, surprised she had never heard of anyone capable of doing that.

"Indeed." Simon responded. "Many call him the Miracle Medic for lots of reasons, mostly thanks to his incredible healing and great care for others. But if I recall correctly, him having the ability to read auras allows him to try and get a more general understanding of that person." He explained to Hilda, who was able to understand what he was getting across to her.

"Korey?" A voice called out to Korey, as Korey turned around to see Hamza approach him. Axel and Azure notice Hamza as well.

"Hamza, it's nice to see you again." Korey beamed, as the two of them shook hands in greeting.

"I can say the same to you." He replied, his eyes soon noticing Hilda coming up to him. "You look strange... You're certainly not a Winged One, so what are you, exactly?"

Although she had zero idea on what species the Winged Ones are, she bowed, akin to a princess when they bow before someone. "I am Hilda, one of the last surviving Arken of my kind." She introduced herself, standing upright as she finished speaking. "Pleased to meet you, Hamza." Hilda added.

"Hilda, eh? Last time Korey talked about you, you were more human than what you currently are..." Hamza began, stopping when he noticed Hilda's eyes gazing at the ground.

"It's a... long story." She sighed, rather content with not having to speak much about her past to someone she doesn't know well enough. It felt too similar to when she didn't speak much about herself to Korey or her guild members back in Iorys before the incident at Iorys' third stratum.

Hamza looks away for a bit before looking back at Hilda. "My apologies if what I said sparked back some terrible memories." He apologized, hoping not to trend that line again.

The Arken woman looks back at Hamza, trying to move on as a small smile appeared on her face. "I-It's absolutely fine. I tried to move on from them as best as I can." She reassured him, relieving Hamza a bit of guilt that he might've had from earlier in the conversation.

"So Hamza," Korey spoke up, changing the subject. "You're still leading this guild, right?"

"Not really."

This surprised Korey. As much as he knew Hamza was the guild leader of the Guardians back in Lagaard, it shouldn't have surprised him to see him change leaders when he wasn't around... But just when he was about to ask his next question...

"I've handed down the leadership role to Axel and Lynus. I trust them more than anyone else to lead the guild I built." Hamza already answered his unasked question, like he was aware of what he was going to ask.

"I-I see... Guess it makes sense when you think about it; you got both the brain and brawn in one role." Korey began, only to feel a punch to his shoulder. He turned to see Axel right beside him.

"Heeey..." He groaned, rubbing his arm where he punched him.

"Heheheh, I just had to..." Axel chuckled, indicating that it was a light punch to the shoulder out of fun, and not anger. Korey couldn't help but chuckle once he figured it out.

Hamza formed a smile of his own, seeing Axel and Korey having a bit of fun. "It's almost like you never left High Lagaard, doesn't it?" The War Magus asked.

"As much as I want to say yes, it just feels like I'm reliving a memory." He replied, before getting yet another joking punch to his shoulder, as he quickly turned and brought a hand to his hair, nuzzling his hand against it, doing so for a couple of seconds. The sight of him and Axel having this little war zone of having fun gave Hilda a laugh, before separating him from Axel, leaving the landsknecht to fix his hair.

Axel looks over to Azure, and pats his shoulder. "You see, Hilda isn't so bad as you thought she was." He assured him, seeing his eyes no longer forming those worried eyes he's seen before.

"I see..." Azure replied, with some hint of nervousness in his voice. But he was at least starting to get used to Hilda, so as long as baby steps were taken to get him used to seeing her, all the better.

Simon turns around as he heard an approaching conversation to see some people walk down the stairs. Azure darts right toward them, seeing two people wearing Medic coats. Axel at the approaching people as well, seeing an orange haired medic stop in his tracks once Azure approached him.

Korey looks over to where Azure is, and gasps in surprise. "Lynus!" He exclaimed, rushing over to the orange haired medic as Hilda quickly follows suit, along with Simon and Hamza.

He noticed, much like Axel, Lynus hair was much longer than when he had met him the first time he came to Lagaard. "Korey? You're on the Maginia?" He asked, genuinely surprised to see the Highlander make it on the Maginia at all.

"Yeah! And man, do I have some news to tell you!" Korey responded with lots of excitement in his voice.

Lynus noticed Hilda standing next to Korey. He could tell that something was troubling her, based on the aura she radiated. Even though her appearance was all but new to Lynus, it was surprising to see that a troubled aura like Hilda's made its way to him.

"I guess our talk is going to be have to be tabled later, Isiah." Lynus sighed, talking to the other medic standing next to him. "Hey, it's fine, I don't have a problem with that. We can talk later, but I better go find Zesiro and stop his lousy ass from sneaking out before the Maginia takes flight around noon." The man named Isiah replied.

Korey heard Zesiro's name, and quickly looked up to the brown haired Medic, who was a bit taller than Lynus. He seemed to have a more up-front personality than Lynus, however... "Hey, weren't you from the guild Zesiro is in?" Korey asked before Isiah could stray far from the stairs.

"Indeed I am." He replied. "Lynus told me a bit about you."

Korey scratched his head, unsure if it was good or bad hearing from another medic like Isiah. "Ummm... great?" He braced himself a little, probably out of fear of what he can do.

"You're about as honest as one can find." Isiah began. "But if you try to be lazy, I'll be glad to change that mindset."

Korey flinched upon hearing him emphasize 'glad'. Hilda placed her hands on his shoulders, reassuring him despite not knowing Isiah much like he does. "I-I'm sure he isn't lazy, Isiah." Lynus commented, fully aware that Korey never harbored a thought of laziness in his life.

"Oh, I know. I just wanted to see him flinch a little." Isiah smirked, seeing Korey's surprised face in the corner of his eye.

"What?! That's not fair!" The Highlander yelled, as Isiah chuckled with laughter as he heads down the stairs.

Korey sighed as he tried to recover from his embarrassment. "Not the second person I expected merely wanting to get a simple reaction out of me..." He commented, trying to relax himself.

"Isiah's a good person once you know him," Lynus insisted. "He just... could be a bit harsh when people are lazy."

The orange haired medic looked around for a brief moment before looking back at Korey. "Anyways, let's discuss the news you have in our room before we get too distracted with the other guild members." Korey nodded in response, figuring that it's probably better to discuss it there rather than be distracted by everyone else.

"Speaking of others, I'll make sure that they're here by the time lunch is ready. I'll see you later." Hamza announced, as the group said their goodbyes to the War Magus, before following Lynus into his room.

As Lynus placed his satchel on the table, he turned to Hilda, wanting to get a good look at her. She felt too alien to be a Vessel, as she was more fit than the people of that race. Despite her arms being purple, it didn't clue into much from what he could gather at a glance. Hell, her entire appearance basically screams that she's an extraterrestrial being.

"Interesting..." Lynus sighed, a bit lost on deducing her race. "I don't think I've seen someone like you before. You're quite different than the Sentinels, Vessels, Winged Ones, and the Yggdroids..."

Hilda sighs as she sits down on the bed with Korey. "I know I am... It doesn't help that I'm one of the last surviving members of my race; the Arken."

Lynus was... shocked. Perhaps the aura emitting from Hilda was from the weight of being a lone survivor was getting to her much more than anyone realized. Yet, despite the pressure, she seemed to have pressed on, regardless.

"That must be haunting you ever since you've left, hasn't it?" Lynus inquired, to which Hilda nodded in response. "I was stupid to think anything would change if I had been in a relationship with people outside my kind." Hilda began, folding her hands as she placed them on her lap.

Lynus paid full attention, wanting to know what he can do to help her. "To know I'm one of the last hurts me to this day... Despite my people sealing it away, we were adamant about avenging them. So we broke the seal, and defeated the bastard monstrosity that killed my kind!" She continued, feeling some left over rage and aggression build inside of her.

"But despite all that, nothing could change the fact that only me and one other Arken are the last of our kind..." Hilda groaned, feeling Korey's hand placed on hers. She turned her head to see his reassuring smile, as she tried to form a smile of her own.

Lynus felt rather sorry that Hilda had to witness such a genocide of her species. Murdering was one thing, but to hear something like Hilda had said was quite warranted of the aura he had felt from her. To be the burden to ensure that her species survives... That was daunting, and scary in the long run.

Hilda took a deep breath before continuing on. "Throughout my journey through Iorys' Yggdrasil, and after we had defeated the Star Devourer, Korey was the only one who loved me through thick and thin.  He loved me for who I am, and stayed by my side through thick and thin... And I can't thank him enough for that." She finished, nuzzling Korey's cheek a bit, as his cheeks started turning red.

"I'll be honest, had not we had children, my memory wouldn't have returned to me when we finally reunited in Tharsis." Korey added, tossing yet another surprise at Lynus. "Your memory's returned?" Lynus gasped.

The Highlander responds by nodding at him. "I'm going to be honest here," Korey continued. "There's something that's bothering me recently, and it feels like my memory hasn't fully returned to me."

"What would that be?" Lynus pondered, hoping to find out as to why. "It feels like there's chains wrapped around my mind, holding tightly onto some important clue as to how I left Iorys, but no matter how hard I think, it just won't let loose..." Korey explained, sighing as Hilda placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I was hoping you'd help me find out why." He had only one option, and that was through Lynus. Despite not being a burden to his team despite the memory loss, it has been rather tough to remember up until yesterday.

Lynus placed a finger on his chin as he paced around for a bit. "That must be one elaborate curse if it's targeting specifically memories..." He spoke aloud, likely guessing a possible answer to what's going on with him. "As much as I'd like to cure that, I'm afraid there could be repercussions to removing that curse without so much of a single thought." Lynus added, shaking his head as he recalled quite well about the curse plague that occurred in Lagaard.

Was this similar to what had happened there? Were Hexers capable of cursing a vital part of humans? Or was it the cause of something else...?

"So you expect him to wait it out some more? He's been waiting with every fiber of his being to reunite with his family and guild members, do you think waiting could solve a tiny bit more of his memory?" Simon questioned, feeling like waiting was an unjust answer for this solution.

"It has to be the only option that can guarantee that there won't be any harm to him, Simon. I'm afraid Lynus is quite right with this one..." Axel responded, trusting Lynus with the decision he made.

Korey placed his hand on his head, almost as if a sudden headache occurred. He needed to know the answer, but with it being so far away, it felt like he was back at square one when he first woke up in High Lagaard. "Korey," Lynus began, getting Korey's attention.

"I know it seems tough, especially when you were so close to fully recovering, but know that you're not alone anymore. Even if there is no way to reclaim that memory, you can still live a normal life now. That's about the most good news I can give you ever since we first met back in High Lagaard, where that red-haired female Monk introduced me to you." Lynus did his best to reassure him, and to his credit, he was correct.

In fact, that day he first met Lynus felt rather significant... It was almost as if she wanted to make sure she had a way to help him restore his memories day one, only to not get that far in the end. "Yukina..." He whispered to himself, placing a hand on his chest. It felt like it was only yesterday that he had met Lynus, yet time passed that he inevitably got his own memories back, all while making new ones along the way...

Lynus heads to his satchel and searches through it, seeming to grab something from it. He returns to Korey with something in hand. "I'd like you to have this Lapis necklace to carry around." Lynus began, placing the necklace around Korey's neck.

"From what I've read, it'll help you with focusing your thoughts and concentration. It could be the key to helping you restore your memory faster, or it could be a little bit of relief if you're losing focus." He added, as Korey stared at it in wonder.

He never needed a gemstone... At first, his interest for gemstones only happened when he wanted Hibiki to be free from her nightmare filled dreams. To think Lynus still cared about him, even when he was caring about everyone else...

Lynus felt a pair of arms wrap around him, as he didn't even have the time to notice it so quickly. "U-Uh..." He stammered a bit, surprised by the sudden hug.

"Thank you, Lynus. I'll keep it close at all times." Korey thanked, as he felt Lynus return the hug.

"Don't mention it, pal." Lynus replied. "This is the least I can do to contribute to help you make a full recovery." He continued, soon separating from the hug as he approaches Hilda.

"Hilda, though we've only met for a couple of minutes, this Garnet gemstone should help remove the negativity of the haunting past that follows you." Lynus' radiant smile was enough to surprise Hilda, that she didn't even have time to notice that he had placed the gemstone necklace around her neck.

She looks at the necklace in amazement. "With that, and Korey's reassuring presence, you should be able to relax more on the present and the upcoming future." Lynus added. Hilda looked at Korey for a moment, then back at Lynus.

"I... I don't know what to say." Hilda began, soon smiling with a bit of confidence. "Thank you, Lynus. You really are such a kind person..." She thanked Lynus, who simply nodded in return.

"And if anyone were to complain, they'd have me to deal with." Axel declared, as Korey chuckled at how true that remark is. The landsknecht pauses for a moment, then looks out the window.

Lynus approached Axel. "Something wrong, Axel?" He asked, to which Axel shook his head.

"No, nothing's wrong. I was just trying to think if there was a way Korey could have a guild house close to ours." Axel spoke up, as Lynus seemed to have some interest in the thought.

Korey continued to look at the Lapis necklace, seeing how it reflected under the light. "I pray this doesn't get lost in battle." He commented, not wanting to lose a gift Lynus gave him.

"Maybe put it under your shirt so the string wouldn't get cut off." Hilda suggested. "Or better yet, leave it at the inn."

Korey stared back at Hilda. "But what if I don't wanna leave it at the inn?" He inquired, which resulted in a shrug from Hilda. "Your loss." She sighed, ending the conversation there.

"But that's not fair!" Korey blurted out, causing Hilda to giggle, silencing her husband with a kiss on the lips, catching him off guard. "You can be quite easy to tease sometimes, dear..." She cooed, seeing his cheeks turn red again.

"O-Oh shut up." Korey could only comment, making Hilda chuckle as she and Korey get up from the bed. "Now, we better head back to the others." She insisted, as Lynus and Axel approached them.

"You're not staying to meet our other guild members?" Lynus inquired, seeing Hilda shake her head. "It has been an honor to meet you and all, but if we stay any longer, our children and guild members would worry on what's taking us too long." Hilda responded, as she gave him a reassuring smile.

"Besides, I'm sure we'll have time to meet the other members of your guild later on." She added, as Lynus sighs. "Oh, alright. I suppose we could find the time for you and your guild to get to know ours." He hummed.

As Simon opened the door and exited the room, Hilda and Korey made their way out as well. "Oh, yeah, one thing before we go." Korey stopped himself, turning to Lynus as the orange haired medic looked at him.

"When we get to Iorys, if you happen to meet someone named Drayce from the Angelward Guild, tell him to come visit my guild house sometime later. I want to catch up with him sometime before we land in Lemuria." He declared, as Lynus allowed himself to try and keep that thought in mind...

Someone named Drayce from the Angelward Guild... Lynus thought to himself, before looking back at Korey. "I can certainly pass that message along, as long as I hope the guild house isn't a riot by the time we get there." Lynus chuckled a bit, to which Korey and Axel chuckled alongside him.

"Alright then, that's all for now. I'll see you later!" Korey hummed, as Axel, Lynus, and Azure waved goodbye to him.

"See ya, Korey." Lynus said with a smile on his face. "It was nice to catch up with you." Axel chuckled, as Azure repeats what Lynus said to Korey, as Korey catches up to Hilda and Simon, who were waiting outside the guild house.

Simon adjusts his coat before addressing the married couple in front of him. "Well, I can only hope that things will work out for the two of you... Who knows what would happen should you two endure more suffering than what you two have been through." Simon voiced his concern.

"I hope so, Simon." Korey replied, hoping everything goes fine in the end. "I would've hoped that there would've been a simpler answer... but as long as most of my memory has returned, who's to say I'm alright with that?"

"Me, obviously." Hilda chirped, as Korey chuckled in response, before the two of them hold hands again. Simon rolled his eyes and sighed.

"You two are just the most romantic out of the people I've seen that are married, aren't you?" He questioned, surprised they're doing it more often than Altum and Amare. "Can you blame me, Simon?" Korey questioned, hearing the medic's small complaint as the three of them start making their way back to Vivian's Inn.

"It's been at least some time since I've been with my family, and with Hilda. I gotta make up for that missing time." He added, about to go on a tangent when someone calls out to him.

"Heeeeeeey!"

Korey turns around, and almost yells in surprise when a Highlander with purple hair, brown skin, and dark yellow eyes jumped onto him, losing his grip on Hilda's hand as he quickly recognized the female Highlander. "R-Rukmini?!" He exclaimed in surprise.

"Do you have any idea how long it has been since you've had me and the others waiting?!" Rukmini exclaimed, separating himself from Korey so as to not yell in his face. "T-To be fair, I was pretty sidetracked that the thought never crossed my mind..." Korey blinked, seeming to have forgotten that minuscule promise.

"And you call yourself a Highlander? Talk about keeping little promises..." Another voice called out specifically to him, as Hilda and Simon see three more Highlanders approach him; two males, and one more female.

The red haired Highlander was taller than the other Highlanders, yet seems to have remained at that height ever since. His blue eyes were similar to the blonde haired Highlander, who was around the same height as the male to her left, who had a lighter color of brown for his hair color, and his brown eyes remained ever so adamant. They were all taller than Rukmini, on the other hand... Once they approached the group, they stopped right before them.

"Alton, Eunomia, Sanjaya..." Korey spoke their names aloud, as Hilda turned to Korey in surprise. "You know these people, dear?" She asked.

"Dear?! Who're you calling a dear?!" Rukmini yelled, surprising both Hilda and Korey.

"She obviously means Korey, Rukmini." Sanjaya spoke up, shaking his head in disappointment. "Are you sure you've never seen a wedding ring in your life?" He added, but likely only did so to further confuse Rukmini.

Eunomia stepped up and patted Korey's shoulder. "Whatever the case is, I'm glad to see that our Highlander brother is safe." She beamed, making Korey roll his eyes once again.

"Former Highlander brother, Eunomia." Korey responded, intent on making his connections just that with the four Highlanders before him. "Look, it clearly won't make a difference if you speak the truth now, you'll always be a brother to both Eunomia and Sanjaya." Alton rebutted, making Korey groan in realization.

"I know, it's not like I've noticed that." The brown haired Highlander replied, as Simon stood alongside Hilda. "An adoptive brother and sister..." Hilda pondered to herself, coming up with a question on her own. "Korey, do you recall any of your skills as a Fencer?"

Korey shook his head. "No, my skills as a Fencer are just flat up gone... but I've been trying to get back into the swing of wielding a sword again." He replied, as Hilda sighed in annoyance.

"Oh well. As long as you're good at something, you'll do quite fine when we explore Lemuria." She reassured him, as Eunomia turned to face her when she approached Korey.

"...Uh, who are you? You're not exactly human..." Eunomia inquired, though the latter half of her question seemed to irk Hilda a bit.

"I'm Hilda, Korey's wife." Hilda introduced herself. "And it doesn't matter whether or not I'm human, this is my true appearance." She added.

"Oh, okay!" Though rather confused by what she meant by that, Eunomia rolled along with it. "I'm Eunomia!" Eunomia introduced herself, as Alton shrugs at the subject change to rolling right into  introductions.

"The name's Alton." Alton began. "I'm Rukmini. My adventuring skill has been quite lacking, though..." Rukmini introduced herself, sighing at the amount of skill she needs to catch up to the others.

"And I'm Sanjaya. Pleased to meet you, Hilda." Sanjaya hummed, the most calm of the four Highlanders to be alright with Hilda's current appearance.

"My name's Simon Yorke. A pleasure to meet you all." Simon introduced himself, seeing as he was the last one to be introduced.

Alton turned to Korey after he shook hands with Simon. "So, what exactly have you been up to since we last spoke, Korey?" He asked, to which Korey took a deep breath as he exhaled and scratched his head.

"A lot has happened... That's as much as I'll say." He admitted, wanting to keep it short and simple for now.

"Awww, no adventuring stories?" Eunomia groaned, hoping to hear a lot about what had happened at High Lagaard's Yggdrasil. "I'm afraid it'll take too long, Eunomia. Besides, I'd rather be back with my guilds at this point." Korey explained, to which Alton raised an eyebrow once he mentioned 'guilds'.

"You're in more than one guild?" Alton questioned, as Korey lets out a sigh. "I suppose it's better to show you than to tell. After all, you did stop us while we were trying to get back to our destination." Korey declared, as he turns around.

Sanjaya and the others were right behind him. "Lead the way, young brother." He hummed, not noticing Korey's sudden anger.

"For the last time, I am not-!" The brown haired Highlander exclaimed, only to stop himself mid sentence and took deep breaths to calm down. "My apologies, I almost retaliated in anger. I'll just start walking to our destination..." He apologized, as he took Hilda's hand once again, starting the walk back towards Vivian's inn, without any more interruptions...

...........................................................................................

Yukina has traveled with Korey for some time. Ever since, she has since dedicated herself to being an adoptive mother to him. But since his reunion with his family, the memories from before seem like it was only yesterday... And from what his guild members in the Lux Guild have told her, they treat his guild as if they were a family. It all felt... surreal, to the red haired Monk.

"Yukina?" A voice called out to her, gasping as she turns around, seeing Kirjonen approach her.  "Goodness..." Yukina sighed, taking a deep breath. "You scared me for a moment."

"My apologies." Kirjonen apologized, placing his hand on the railing. "I just noticed you were staring off, and I figured I could take one last look at Tharsis along with you."

Yukina didn't mind the company, though she would've appreciated if he was more silent than giving her a surprise out of nowhere. She gave him a nod, looking back at Tharsis through the Maginia with Kirjonen. Though they had only been in Tharsis for a year and a couple of months, it felt like leaving another home.

It would be amazing to return to Tharsis, and see all of the other places that she hasn't been to... Given that Yukina had no home to return to, she wondered what it would be like to settle down. To be with the people she cared for, maybe even raise a family with... Such pleasant thoughts made her sigh, placing her hand on her chin.

"I'm going to miss Tharsis... It was a nice change from Armoroad." Yukina spoke up, after the two spent more than their fair share of staring off at Tharsis.

"So am I, Miss Yukina." Kirjonen concurred. "But I'm confident this new journey of ours will certainly make us all closer in the end." He added, as Yukina nodded in agreement.

Yukina stands up and stretches for a bit, turning her back against Tharsis as she places her hands on the railing to balance herself. "I am quite curious as to what Korey's homeland looks like... Given what his sister has told me, it seemed like he quite enjoyed living there." Yukina brought up, curious to see if what Misaki said was true.

"The other members from the Lux Guild seem to speak highly about Iorys as well." Kirjonen added. "It seems as if it was a place that had long established a bond with all kinds of races long before Tharsis did..." He noted, seeming to find a strange similarity between Iorys and Tharsis.

As Yukina and Kirjonen continue their discussion, she notices someone approaching her, along with three other people she recognizes. "E-Elwood...?" She gasps in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"As someone who was left to look over the Daybreak Guild, I figured to gather everyone in the guild, including Seyfried, Gutrune, and Kujura, and come aboard this flying ship. I'm surprised to see you as much as you are to see me." Elwood responded, expressing the same shock Yukina has when she noticed him.

"More like we were dragged into this nonsense." Kujura muttered, though unfortunately, the girl next to him seemed to have overheard him. "Kujura, stop with this nonsense." Gutrune demanded of him.

"We know Korey's guild has done some questionable things in the past, but there's no need to hark on them for such actions now." She continued, as Seyfried turns to the blonde haired Shogun. "Gutrune is right; there's no need to remind them of the previous actions of the past." Seyfried explained, to which Kujura could only scoff and stare off into the distance.

Kirjonen was at a loss for what had transpired in Armoroad. "What... exactly happened?" He inquired. Yukina took a deep breath, likely psyching herself up to tell him a shortened version of the events that transpired in Armoroad.

"Back in Armoroad, we had quite a hard time choosing which side to join, and we ended up having to find a way to bring Seyfried and Gutrune back to normal." The red-haired monk began. "But one of our members, an Yggdroid named Nu, took the Proclean Offering and risked herself to activate it. Lightning struck her once she activated it, and somehow, Seyfried and Gutrune were free from their curses at the risk of her life."

Seyfried seemed to remove his crown after Yukina finished that sentence. It was a hard memory for him to forget, after all... Gutrune patted Seyfried's shoulder, likely to reassure him that everything was fine now, and that the biggest threat back in Armoroad was destroyed.

"In the end, we had to defeat the Eldest One in order to finish our journey... or so we thought. There was a lot more to do in Armoroad, and we even encountered Flavio, Arianna, Bertrand, Chloe, and Fafnir there." Yukina continued on, as Kirjonen fervently listened.

"I see..." He mumbled as she finished up. "That must have been painful to deal with..." Kirjonen couldn't possibly imagine if such an incident occurred near Tharsis' Yggdrasil... It probably might have been even worse than the Yggdrasil Titan alone.

"It was... but neither was the events after that battle against the Eldest One." Elwood commented, no doubt still furious at what drove the Daybreak Guild to fight Dragons and to inevitably defeat the threat that made itself known months after the incident.

Seyfried placed his crown back on with his Yggdroid hand as he approached Yukina. "Alas, we are not here to dawdle on the past. Do you know where Korey is?" He inquired, hoping to know where he is.

"I don't know, I could've sworn he was in the inn with us-"

"Miss Yukina!"

A voice interrupted the red haired Monk, as she found herself suddenly in a grip with a familiar looking Highlander, who all but nuzzled against her cheek with a rather joyous look on her face. "I had no idea you were here!" Rukimini squealed, as Yukina attempted to remove herself from the hug.

"O-Of course I was here, Rukmini..." Yukina exclaimed, desperately trying to free her arms from her hug. "You knew I traveled alongside Korey." She added.

"Apparently Rukmini forgot again... Just typical of her." Alton's voice called out, as Rukmini, Yukina, and the others saw Korey, Hilda, and Simon return with three other Highlanders.

"Oh shut up!" The brown skinned Highlander barked, hearing Sanjaya and Alton laugh before she turned around and returns nuzzling Yukina. Korey notices Seyfried, Gutrune, Kujura, and Elwood, approaching them as Hilda and Simon soon followed behind him.

"It's nice to see you guys again." Korey greeted, as Seyfried, Gutrune, and Elwood all nodded, sans Kujura, who merely eyed him.

Elwood shook his former guild leader's hand, patting both his and Simon's back. "You as well, Korey and Simon. It's been at least a year since we last spoke."

Simon simply grinned. "It has been a while since we spoke, Elwood. How's the Daybreak Guild doing?" He inquired.

"They're doing just fine." Elwood responded. "I made sure to gather them all onto the Maginia. Though like curious rodents, some of them decided to explore Maginia." The black haired Shogun noted, though he was sure Korey would've wanted them to explore the Maginia anyway.

Korey noticed Seyfried, Gutrune, Kujura, and Elwood look at Hilda with a curious eye. "Everyone, this is my wife, Hilda. She's one of the last of her kind, but she's got a really caring heart."

Hilda blushed a little bit when she heard the small appreciation from Korey, but quickly noticed Seyfried and Gutrune bowing before her. "Pleasure to meet you. I am Seyfried, king of the Deep City, and this is my sister, Gutrune, princess of Armoroad, along with her guardian Shogun, Kujura." Seyfried introduced the three of them, expecting to hear Kujura at least speak nicely to someone new.

But Kujura merely scoffs at the introduction and looks away from the group. "Kujura, stop that at once." Gutrune demanded, making Kujura flinch in surprise. Normally he doesn't flinch in response to the one he serves...

"He doesn't seem to take kindly to new people..." Hilda noted, to which Gutrune sighed, and bowed again. "My apologies, Mrs. Hilda, we're doing the best we can to make him open up to others ever since the incident in Armoroad... He's just very hesitant." Gutrune explained.

"I am not." Kujura rebutted. "You sure sound like it." Elwood commented, as the two Shoguns got into a bit of an argument.

"Honestly," Kirjonen began. "I'm just more concerned that the inn wouldn't be able to hold this much guild members."

It was true... The inn may hold a lot of guild members, but even then, there must be more than enough housing on the Maginia to truly get a guild house. It'd be less work for Vivian when they do get a guild house.

"We're going to need one soon. Don't want to overpay for all the people in our guild."  Simon nodded in agreement.

Overhearing the conversation, Seyfried added his two cents, "I'm sure you'll find one suitable for all of the guild members you've made along the way."

Korey nodded, confident in what Seyfried said. "By the way, these other Highlanders are the ones who raised me when I was in High Lagaard." He noted to everyone else.

Hilda, building up some unforeseen confidence, walked up to the group of Highlanders with a smile on her face. "I never thought I would say this, but thank you for taking care of Korey. If you hadn't, we wouldn't have been reunited ever again."

"You're welcome~" Rukini chirped, before being whisked away by Eunomia.

"I swear, you're so bothersome..." The blonde haired Highlander sighed, as Rukmini struggles and exclaims that she just wanted to hug Yukina for a couple more minutes. Seeing that sight reminded Korey and Hilda about Demetria and Keiko so much that they couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"Hope we're not interrupting." A boy's voice spoke up, as Korey, Hilda, Kirjonen, and Yukina turned to see Riaels, Akakio, Tyro, and Hibiki exiting the inn. "Oh, no you weren't." Korey replied, assuring them that they weren't interrupting anything.

"That's good... We're going to take Tyro out for a walk before the ship takes off in an hour." Akakio explained, as Korey and Hilda nodded in response. The two boys, along with their Beast companion, didn't go too far when they noticed Hibiki stop to talk with Korey.

"Come your ways, didst thee findeth out whither our ultimate destination is?" She asked, curious to know where their end destination is.

"It seems to be an island called Lemuria." Korey responded. Hibiki gasped upon hearing Lemuria, as the Dark Hunter and Troubadour stood by her, seeming to overhear her gasp.

"Hibiki? What's wrong?" Riaels asked, seeing the confused look in Hibiki's eyes.

Lemuria...

The island named Lemuria...

"That name..." Hibiki began. "It's familiar to me... but wherefore can't I recall that island until now?"

Hibiki was at a loss as to how she had not remembered such a place. Was it due to the aftermath of what happened back in High Lagaard? Did her constant nightmares seem to wash away any memories she had there?

"Is there something of importance there?" Akakio asked next, trying not to rush her. She placed her hand on her chin, trying to collect some thought or importance as to what can be there...

"I don't recall..." She sighed, unable to conclude to anything. The name still lingered in her mind, however.

Hilda looked at Korey with worry. Like she was afraid Hibiki might never know the answer. After quickly assuring her, Korey asked his question. "Could Lemuria be your birthplace, Hibiki?"

"Ugh, your meaning escapes me... lest I getting a headache from trying to recall mine past." Hibiki replied, pressing her fingers against her head as if she had felt a headache. She felt a hand land on her shoulder, and she turned to face the brown skinned Dark Hunter.

Riaels' worrying face caught her a bit off guard. "Hibiki, don't rush it. Just take it slow, and we'll find out in due time." He reassured her.

"B-But..." She stuttered, wanting to know the answer with urgency. "Hibiki, trust us." Korey continued, his calming voice reaching Hibiki's ears as she paid attention to the Highlander.

"There's plenty of time before we set off to Lemuria. Just relax and maybe we'll find some clue as to where you were born on Lemuria." He added, patting Hibiki's shoulder as she takes deep breaths for a while.

Once she was calm, she looked up at him. "Thou art right... I'll taketh a breaketh after we wend for a walketh around the Maginia." Hibiki spoke with a smile on her face.

"Cometh, thee three." She urged, beginning to walk off as Akakio and Riaels caught up with Tyro and Hibiki. After seeing those four off, Seyfried approached Korey.

"You've grown as a leader quite well, Highlander." Seyfried expressed, as Korey stood up and looked at him with a confident smile. "Thanks, Seyfried." Korey replied.

"Excuse me." A voice called out, catching everyone's attention. A guard, presumably one of the guards that walked alongside two people within the square, approached them.

"What business do you have here?" Kujura inquired, as the guard turned to him.

"If someone by the name of Korey is present, Mueller would like to speak with him. He'll be waiting on the bridge." The guard spoke aloud, not just at Kujura, before returning to his post.

Hilda turns to Korey, smirking a little bit. "Seems like you've been summoned." She commented, as Korey lets out a sigh.

"Indeed it is... Guess I won't be relaxing quite yet." Korey groaned, hearing Hilda chuckle and patted his shoulder, urging him to continue on.

Before Korey could start walking, he felt his pants being tugged at. "Daddy, can me and Shreya come along?" Karim inquired, as Korey looks down at Karim and Shreya.

"And just how long have you two been listening?" Kirjonen inquired, to which Shreya turned to reply to him. ""Only a couple of seconds. But we wanna be with papa and momma!" She insisted.

Although the business he could be talking about could be important, how could he not keep himself away from his family anymore? He's been away from them for far too long, and yet, he's not quite sure. The look he's getting from Hilda seems to only urge him on...

Shreya felt herself getting lifted up and placed onto someone's shoulders. She looks down to see her father's eyes and smile. "You can come along, but it'll just be us adults talking. So I hope you won't be bored." He explained, but Shreya was far too happy to care.

"I promise, daddy!" She chirped with excitement, getting a chuckle from Korey. "Then let's go! Off to a new adventure!" Korey exclaimed, sprinting as he held on tight to Shreya, who was laughing as she too, held onto him.

Hilda could hear Shreya yell, "Move faster, Daddy!" alongside some chuckles and giggles. She picks up Karim and places him on her shoulders, before sprinting off to catch up with Korey. Yukina couldn't help but smile at the scene.

"Korey sure is a great father, even when he's heading to an important meeting." Yukina chuckled, as Simon and Seyfried nodded in agreement. "Well, let's just hope he comes back with a guild house for us to reside in." Elwood noted, hoping that the brown haired Highlander comes back with good news.

"Here's hoping..." Kirjonen nodded, as he oversees Korey and Hilda running off, Hilda taking quite the lead as she leads him to the bridge. He looks back at Tharsis, recalling the many times Korey's guild had helped him out.

"Farewell, Tharsis." He hummed to himself, as he motions for the others to head inside the inn. Seyfried, along with the group of four Higlanders, urged the others to follow, as Kujura closed the door behind Elwood, who made sure everyone got inside.

..........................................................................................................

The Count took a look outside his window, seeing the Maginia beginning to take flight. The steam the ship expelled was lifting the ship off of the ground, seeing it slowly turn once the people on board were sure they weren't going to damage any buildings. Margarita panted as she watched the ship start to take off.

Tharsis, however lively it was, has just gotten a little quieter. Two guilds of importance to him, the Refulgent and Phaedron, had just boarded the ship, promising them a new journey. No other explorers would be able to get new airships, but at the very least, some Imperials were kind enough to stay behind to ferry those who were going to visit Tharsis.

"Well Margarita," The Count began, petting her on the head. "It looks like we'll have to pray for their safe return." He closed his eyes, as he recalled the faces of the Phaedron and Refulgent guilds.

Margarita continued to pant for a while. "Phaedron and the Refulgent guild got along quite well," He commented to himself, opening his eyes to see the ship in the sky, fixated on a direction before beginning to move, it's destination locked in place. "I pray that the Guardians look over them well." The Count smiled, as he overlooked the departing of the Maginia.

After all, they'll build a bright, shining future, together. Each and every explorer he came across, as well as those of the Guardians, will build to a peaceful future, hand in hand.

[asoulofatlantis]

Summery of my reactions to watching the final stuff of Ao no Kiseki

Lechter and Killika were amazing!

KEVIN! Don’t you dare die on me!

(It's really nice to finally see some scenes with music and sound btw *.*)

Pater-Mater! Oh no!

RENNE!

Pater-Mater just sacrificed himself to save Renne... this is so sad.

T-This is not even the final dungeon yet! I would have never made it to the final dungeon today if that actually is not even the final dungeon!

Honestly this police-boss-guy is shady AF

Oh no! Shizuku is crying!

Arios just gifted Lloyd with his brothers Weapons. How... makaber is this?

I love the “Lets player” XD He was talking about how Arios already admitted that he killed Guy and Lloyd in this exact moment: “It isn’t sure if he killed him.” The Lets player: “BUT HE ADMITTED TO IT!” XD

Oh... Guy was shot from behind. That... is not what Arios would have done. He is not using guns and he is very unlikely someone who would kill another person from behind. But... WHY WASN’T THAT MENTIONED BEFORE?!

Ui! A Kevin and Ries Moment. I don’t have many feelings for them... but I am a shipper at heart. Best way to win me over? Be part of a shipping! XD

I do not know why I have tears in my eyes AGAIN because of Renne. But... Pater-Mater was her family for so long. Its painful to see this farewell.

OH MY GOD! HE IS USING THAT THING LIKE A DIVING KNIGHT!

IAN! IAN? I.... I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS! This... this is... this is such a Trails-Game-Move! Someone you never would have suspected turned against you in the end... why didn’t I see that coming? Its not the first time this happens!

I love how the Lets player is pretending to be shocked and then he is like: “We are going to get a cutscene here so I stay quite...” basically telling us he played the game already ^^’ Anyway... he is a bad actor, so you can see through this.

Oh boy... KeA just turned into that Azure-Tree. I was wondering when that thing would come into play. It even showed up in Trails of Cold Steel. But I never thought KeA herself would be that thing.

(Uff...eve just watching the important scenes takes sooo much time! I have to get up at 4 in the morning tomorrow! T.T)

Uh! A pretty animated scene. I am almost sad that we don’t get then in Cold Steel anymore.

This dungeon is huge! I am so glad that I do not have to do this myself ^^’ Really, the lets player is constantly whining about how long this dungeon is.

I think Wald was used as a bad Plot-Device for Wazy...

He just said “Gute Nacht” to him. Trails Games and their German...

Oh god! A puzzle in this dungeon! I am so glad I am not playing that myself...

“God forbid we kill someone in this game!” XD  I can feel this man so much. (He was talking about that Shirley will probably hunt us in Cold Steel now, since we left her alive - and look who is indeed hunting us in CS3 just one year after he played that: Shirley. I feel ya, man. I feel ya.)

This guy is amazing. He defeated Randys Uncle in less than 3 Minutes. Wow!

Now Lloyd acts like all he ever wanted was to find out what happened to his brother. Not like that that was ever mentioned in Zero or much talked about in Ao either, while we are at it...

I have to give you this info, because it is important to get the Picture. The first crime division were Dudley still works in knew that the attack that killed Arios wife and made Shizuku go blind was a terrorist-attack but kept it a secret - probably for political reasons. We also found out that Lloyds Parents and the family of Ian were killed because of such things. (In the main plot, btw, it is never mentioned what happened to either Lloyds parents or Ians family as far as I can remember and since it seems to be important for the plot, this is really a huge ass plothole here...) So of course Arios was disappointed in the police. He also needed more money for Shizukus treatment and of course he was also running away from the sorrow of the loss of his wife. He ended up working with Ian probably because he wanted revenge of some sort. Or a conclusion. Something like that. Its actually not said what his reasons were, other than joining people who wanted to do something against all the shit that Calvard and Erebonia pulled with the people of Crossbell while actually at war with each other. He also got KeA out of her place in the Sun temple and put her into the auction. Mariabell planed all that to get rid of the Mafia. She actually wanted to take custody of KeA herself but didn’t stop us when we did. Weird... Anyway... now about Guys death... Well... basically Guy found out ALL of the things that were going on behind the scenes, including the plan for the fake attack on Crossbell to gain independence (that happened years later...) and so he faced Arios who was involved in all this from the very beginning. They had a duel to death but Arios was not the one who killed Guy in the end - doesn’t make so much difference to me as he WANTED to kill him, but once again, we are in a Trails-Game here, so... whatever.

And once again Lloyd does not want to revenge his brother... tze... (I mean, granted... Guy was not killed by Arios, but once again he WANTED to kill him AND also was indirectly responsible for him being killed because the fight distracted him...)

Ian of course shot Guy. I just don’t know why Arios is defending him. But there is more to it. Guy offered Arios to keep it a secret what he knew and stay friends, was even talking about his wedding (probably a translation-mistake when Lloyd said in the first game that Guy lost his long loved woman to another man...) and so on and just when Arios was considering it... Ian shot him from behind. Arios was not happy about it. And yet... he defended Ian. I don’t fully get it actually. Why would Arios protect this man and say he himself killed Guy?

Ohhh... I think KeA saw the future and in this future her Friends got killed and she decided to work with Mariabell to protect them. Makes sense. For once.

HOLY SHIT! I was wrong. She didn’t see us get killed in the future we actually did get killed and she - with her enorme powers - changed that by more or less turning back time and in that timeline we managed to become close to Renne, Estelle and Joshua and so they joined us and thanks to that we managed to survive... WOW! KeA actually arranged that we solved Rennes problem with her family and that's how things came into fruition WTF?!

And the bad guys now want to use KeAs power to alter reality so that Crossbell is the mayor power who rules over Erebonia and Calvard. (Now if that would have happened Osborn would be screwed and his whole plan ruined! XD)

Wow... a few nice words and Ian is a good guy again? Right. Trails game...

Mariabell actually did us a favor in killing Ian ^^’

So in the end Mariabell is the Semi-final boss...

Apparently KeAs magic subconsciously leads to everyone wanting to love and care about her. So what? No big deal in my eyes. No one else but KeA herself seems to care either.

Its nice that Lloyd got some closure with his brother. Although I doesn’t deserve it ^^’ It was a touching scene tho.

Awwwww. Armes Baby KeA... ♥ (She is finally back to normal. Saved by Lloyds unconditional love and cheesy speeches XD)

Oh... she didn’t kill Ian. I can’t believe that. Even the Lets player was like: “Seriously? *sfz*” XD

I found it a bit unsatisfying that KeA just simply lost her powers and nothing else. Its... uh... boring in a way? ^^’

Anyway... I am finally done with this game. FINALLY!

Tho I have to say... it really has an amazing plot. It was not bad at all. Tho it still lacked a few things.

[benisasoftboi]

Unorganised thoughts on Trails From Zero:

So I had to experience this one via Let’s Play (shout-out to TheTwitGamer over on YouTube) due to computer limitations, which made the experience a little different. But not worse, because Zero is very, very good

I learnt that I have been pronouncing a lot of things wrong (most egregiously, I’d been saying Liberl as ‘liberal’ and Aidios as ‘eye-dios’)

Oh, also shout-out to GeoFront for their excellent patch work

I’ve also been playing Cold Steel 1 at the same time (nearly at the end), which has affected my views on a few things

First thing I’ve got to say is that I think Crossbell has the best art style I’ve seen from the series so far. I don’t dislike Sky’s, but it’s a little unpolished, and meanwhile Cold Steel is maybe too polished, to a point that it looks kind of generic. Crossbell and its characters have a really distinct, stylish look, and I love it. I actually prefer Renne in this style

(the exception is Joshua. What did they do to his eyes!?!?!)

So, overall plot - very good, well paced, picks up nicely from Sky while also introducing new elements. I cannot believe it got darker than Star Door 15

Like during that whole scene where Joachim is explaining all of the truly, truly evil things the cult did, I was just sitting there silently screaming ‘REMEMBER WHEN THIS SERIES WAS ABOUT A COUPLE OF TEENAGERS EXPLORING THE SEWERS UNDER THEIR HOMETOWN AND ESTELLE’S BIGGEST WORRY WAS HAVING TO TAKE A WRITTEN EXAM CAN WE GO BACK TO THAT PLEASE’

Am excited by all these mysterious bells in Crossbell. Can’t wait to find out what that’s all about

Never trust a mayor’s secretary or an eccentric professor is what I’m learning from this series

Now the characters! The main thing I really care about in any story!

So overall I think having a close knit group of four at the centre was a smart choice because it meant I really came to care for all of them in a way I sort of haven’t with all of Class VII so far

Lloyd: I like Lloyd. I wasn’t sure I would at first, he seemed a little generic, but the thing that swung it was the scene after he talks with Elie on the roof. The others start teasing them about being a thing and this stupid, stupid man starts going into Full Denial Mode, and he’s just such a moron in that scene. I found it extremely funny and now I love him (honestly, all a man really needs to do to get me to like him is be an idiot)

There’s also that scene later where the man has his hand on Elie’s cheek, they get interrupted, and then when she suggests they continue this later he has the AUDACITY to not know what she means. My LPer and I were equally exasperated at his sheer density. I love it

Elie: Elie might actually be favourite non-Estelle girl in this series so far. She’s well designed, smart, makes a good Team Mum... she’s Katara. She’s Katara from ATLA. Which I recently rewatched. Oh my god

Oh I really liked that her parents are divorced and not dead. Makes a nice change from all the other dead relatives in this series

And yes I think she and Lloyd are cute haha

Randy: Easily my least favourite of the four, but I like him well enough. I think it was a good thing that I was far enough ahead in Cold Steel to know about Red Constellation, it made that reveal more impactful. I’m looking forward to learning more about him. I like how he nicknames people, also

Tio: Might be my other favourite non-Estelle girl. Heartbreaking backstory, gets some really funny lines, her relationship with Jona was great - Tio’s just awesome

KeA: Adorable and loveable. Suspiciously adorable and loveable... Very excited to learn more about her origins

Noel: Don’t think I know enough about her yet, but I like her so far, she’s cool. So’s her sister, I loved the sidequest with Anton. The sound effects in that one, PEAK comedy

Dudley: He reminds me of Miles Edgeworth, one of my favourite characters in anything ever, so of course I like him

Arios: Again, don’t think I know enough to say...

Wazy: Oh, man, like I have a huge bias for long-haired pretty boys but I instantly loved Wazy. So excited for more of him :D 

Renne: So glad we got to see her story finally get a happy ending. She deserves it. And man she is just such a good Mysterious Character

I forgot to mention this before, but I think it’s hilarious that she has three PhDs. Who gave them to her!?

Estelle and Joshua: So of course I love them and was very happy to see them again... but also maybe they shouldn’t have been here? They ended up feeling a little superfluous to me, ngl, kinda like Falcom weren’t confident people would play the games with a whole new cast if they weren’t around. Was really fun to see them from an outsiders perspective, though

Joachim: So, I’d been thinking for ages now how interesting Aidios is. In most JRPGs you get to meet and/or fight God at some point, so it’s very, very clear that they exist. But since as early as FC I’ve kind of been wondering... is Aidios real? In universe. Like, the way we see worship work, it isn’t a Fire Emblem thing where God is right there and you can chat with her - instead, it’s very similar to our world. And from there, what I’ve been thinking is ‘it would be really cool to see an Aidios atheist’

‘Ai-theist’?

So this was very exciting for me. I would also now like to see an ai-theist who is not an evil, evil monster, but I’m pretty happy as is 

Oh, yeah, Joachim is obviously a horrible person, good villain

It kills me that they were all ‘oh no, he died, I wish we could have saved him’ at the end. Guys. The man set up multiple child torture facilities. You weren’t going to be able to Zuko him. This is for the best

What else

Crossbell City is a very cool location, big fan

I am now spoiled on the following - something about timelines, resetting and divergence, the grass comes back and is linked to septium veins, something Bad happens to Olivier (NO), and something Very Bad happens to Crossbell (but like, I knew that, because they keep mentioning how precarious their situation is and I have basic literary comprehension skills)

I hope Ziet is more relevant in Azure 

More of Wazy and Wald’s weird friendship please (are they a ship? they kind of feel like they would be, at least in Zero. Rhetorical question, btw)

I hope we see Rixia again, I liked her and her deal, I think I’m also spoiled on Yin returning in Cold Steel in some capacity? Exciting

Yeah this was a really, really good game, and I hope it gets an official release one day (honestly, whoever’s doing Falcom localisation these days - buy Geofront’s work. It’s damn good)

Super hyped for Azure and to keep playing Cold Steel!! 

No but seriously what did they do to Joshua 

Like, this is after he stops being dead inside, right? Either way, I’m never sleeping again

[asoulofatlantis]

A little review after finishing over half of this game...

First of all... something huge is missing in this game. And that is - don’t laugh - a reason to play. No, I actually mean it. This game doesn’t provide any reason for you to play it until the end of the third chapter. Nothing other than the fact that it is part of the Kinseki-series of which you need to know the characters and plot for future games, that is.

It has been hinted that Lloyds brother has been killed and that his killing was probably not the first one that was doomed to become a cold case. When I’ve heard that, I thought that at some point (early in the game, not in the final chapter or so...) Lloyd would reveal that he actually want to find out the truth about his brothers death and bring closure to that case so that he can rest in peace or something. With that, I would mean gathering some information about what exactly happened and who caused it and why it ended up being a cold case. THAT would have been some interesting reason to play. Also... Lloyd should have started hearing KeAs voice much early in the game. In his dreams do to some telekinetic-connection or something. Because finding out who that voice belongs to or why it was calling out to Lloyd would have also been an really interesting reason to continue playing.

The background story of our characters are thrown into the game at some point and that thrown over our characters shoulders like they are nothing. Randy beeing previously part of a jaeger corps didn’t mean a damn thing for the groupe, even tho it was a great moment for some sort of conflict in this team that is so damn missmatched and still somehow seems to work for some reason I don’t really get. Reconnecting Elie with her parents in some way has also never been a goal. Getting to understand what exactly happened to Tio when she was a missing person was also something no one cared to do. We leave a child playing computer and eating pizza all day, hacking into important companies in an underground-dungeon like it was no big deal.

There is so much wasted potential in this game.

I can absolutely not understand how people can say that the Crossbell-Saga-Games are the best ones of the series, because I hardly had any fun at all ever since starting to play it and I am currently in the middle of chapter 4. I am aware that some dots will (hopefully) connect close to the end BUT that is simply too late for everything to make sense.

The only good chapter so far was chapter 3 and that only do to the missions with some characters from the previous (and/or later Kiseki-games) and even there... until we reached the two missions were it got interesting and good it was boring and exhausting. Tiring, actually.

And even know, that we have reached a point close to the end of the game, the only really interesting plot-point we have is KeAs real identity and her past. The whole thing with the mafia is not really interesting, especially since the game has proven to us time and time again (which also got a little boring at some point) that we are simply not strong enough to beat them. It is getting frustrating that no big mission really worked out without someone interfering and especially because without the interference, our characters would have gotten killed a few times already. Because at the end, they might be decent detectives, but they are bad fighters.  And yet, here we are, never even ONCE considering asking the bracers for help or guidance when going to a big and dangerous mission. 

The four main characters, although having technically speaking interesting backgrounds, are plain boring. I feel like they have hardly any interesting personality... no, that isn’t even right, the game just doesn’t use that personality. Its once again a totally wasted opportunity.

I really don’t understand what was wrong with falcom while making this game. Because Trails in the Sky and Trails of Cold Steel are really good games. Not flawless, of course, but definitely better then Trails of Zero. I am so disappointed and I can only back that it will get better at least in the final chapter AND that at least Trails of Azure will prove that its got the reputation for having the best plot in all the Kinseki games for a good reason.

Thats it from me about this game for today.