#ghondor x you

[frickingnerd]

ghondor realizing her feelings for you

pairing: ghondor x gn!reader

tags: fluff, crushing

ghondor was used to being praised, especially for her fighting style

she was one of the strongest soldiers in the city, even at her young age

a lot of people looked up to her, wanting to learn from her and complimenting her on her skills

and yet, she had never really cared much about getting compliments, until you were the one complimenting her

you weren't a soldier like her, but ghondor had met you before, since you worked at the clinic and took care of injured people

sometimes you would accompany the soldiers on missions, to treat any potential wounds and that's how you got close to ghondor

she was leading the mission while you stayed in the background, watching as she effortlessly took care of things

you couldn't help but comment how cool ghondor looked, just fighting huge monsters with her bare fists

ghondor had gotten that comment a hundred times by now, but when she heard it from you, her heart started to beat faster

never before had a compliment felt this special. but perhaps it wasn't the compliment. maybe it was the person giving it…

[valbellepeche]

**SPOILERS for Xenogears and all of Xenoblade except X**

I wanted to talk about how some xenoblade characters and elements (specifically the trinity processor) parallel parts of gears and saga. Beginning with xenoblade 1:

Alvis serves the role of both the Zohar and the wave existence within the story of Xenoblade 1. He is the power source for the demiurge that creates a cycle of destruction and recreation (Zanza/Deus) while also connecting with the protagonist and eventually allowing him to defeat the demiurge. The term "Monado" is directly derived from the Monad, which is the Zohar and wave existence are partially based on. At the end of the game, Alvis appears as a glowing green cross, extremely similar to how the wave existence appears in Xenogears.

The Monado III is very similar to the role of Xenogears (the gear) being the final form of the protagonists weapon after they make contact with Alvis/the wave existence. Alvis's line "I was here at the beginning, and I will proclaim the end." calls back to the bible verse which is the first thing you see in Xenogears, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." In the context of Xenogears' opening scene this is associated with Deus. (More on this later)

In both stories they drive the protagonist forward to defeat the final antagonist, creating a world where people are free to live without some god, oppressive government or religious structure deciding for them. The main thing that separates Alvis and the WE is that the WE acts in order to free itself from the Zohar, whereas Alvis, as the facilitator of the world, wants it to cease stagnation. Future Redeemed recontexualizes this slightly by saying he embodied Klaus's regrets.

Xenoblade 2:

Xenoblade 2 formally introduces the trinity processor as well as the actual Zohar. Being computers linked to the Zohar, the trinity processor is similar to Xenogears' Kadomony.

The way Pyra is found resting in the Ancient Ship is a reference to when Abel awakens Elhaym in Xenogears

Elhaym was created in response to Abel's desire for a mother figure, the way blades reflect their driver could be seen as similar.

More on Logos and Pneuma in a bit.

Xenoblade 3 (Primarily Future Redeemed):

Future Redeemed is what got me thinking about all this in the first place. Given the prevalence of Ontos and that it takes two forms, as well as the other parts of the trinity processor having relevance, there's a lot to talk about.

The first form Ontos takes in Future Redeemed is Alpha. He has the appearance of Alvis, but with Zanza's wing(s) and he wields the Monado I (which is also Zanza's). Zanza's influence is an intentional contradiction with Alpha's driving force of extinguishing the past for the sake of the future, and also alludes to how he takes the role of Deus, which Zanza held in Xenoblade 1. Zanza's angelic motif is contrasted by Z symbolizing the devil. Alpha's goal is to take the life of the City to a new world, which is very similar to how Deus acted to return to Earth. This connection is made obvious with Alpha's second phase being obviously inspired by Deus's final form.

This brings the whole "I was here at the beginning, and I will proclaim the end." thing full circle, what with Deus being associated with the ALPHA and Omega verse. Additionally, Xenosaga's expy is called Omega so it all fits together nicely.

If Alpha is representative of Deus, then Na'el fills the role of Miang. Both are women who act in order to achieve the goal of Deus/Alpha. What makes Na'el different is that it's at least partially coming from her own will, whereas Miang fully takes over women's bodies.

In Xenogears, Kadomony is composed of 3 parts, the Persona, Anima, and Animus. The Persona is what created the original Elhaym alongside Miang. Na'el is connected to Ontos and parallels Miang, which leaves the final aspect of Ontos in Future Redeemed, A, to be Elhaym. A is separated from Alpha by Ghondor's desire for a future that's the best for everyone, once again being similar to how Elhaym is created. A also states that they are composed of Alvis's memories with Shulk which is a similar type of thing.

Future Redeemed states that Ontos acts as an arbiter between Logos and Pneuma, using their input to make decisions. Without the complete Trinity Processor, Ontos cannot function properly. This feels very reminiscent of Xenogears' theme of becoming whole, and also Deus needing all of its different parts to accomplish its goals. Alpha is only defeated when the powers of Pneuma and Logos (at least symbolically) come together again.

Side note: this fantastic video by PhantomHeit talks about the trinity processor and speculates that Zanza and Meyneth may have stood in for Logos and Pneuma in Xenoblade 1.

Future Redeemed establishes Pneuma and Logos as intrinsically feminine and masculine respectively, granting credence to them representing Anima and Animus. This isn't the only thing pointing to this, Malos's battle theme in Torna the Golden Country is called "Over Despair and Animus". Nia's weapon in Xenoblade 3 is called the Anima Sword, which could relate to the 2 phantom Aegis swords that float behind her or that she created the Ouroboros power which allows Matthew to access Pneuma.

In Xenogears Animus takes the form of the Gazel Ministry, antagonists who wish to obtain the Anima Relics to become complete, not unlike Malos needing Pyra/Mythra to repair his broken core.

In the climax of Future Redeemed, everything comes together, not just the Trinity Processor, but also Keves, Agnus, and even Moebius to complete the power of Ouroboros and oust Alpha and -redeem- the future if you will. Humans joining together to create a future they can live freely in is a frequently recurring theme in Xeno, and it's a fitting end for this chapter of the series.

[frickingnerd]

ghondor comforting you after shania's death

pairing: ghondor x gn!reader

tags: spoilers for xc3, mentions of suicide, comfort

ghondor was quite shaken after shania's death, but you clearly seemed to take her death a lot worse

the three of you had always been close, yet you knew shania longer than ghondor had and you had just gotten over her suicide, when she re-appeared as moebius

when you had to watch shania die a second time, it somehow hurt even more than the first time

ghondor was right there with you, holding shania in her arms, until she turned into nothing more but dim lights flying towards the sky

as soon as she was fully gone, you couldn't hold your tears back anymore and started sobbing loudly

you had wanted to stay strong during her last moments, but now you were fully breaking down

ghondor had quickly wrapped her arms around you in an attempt to comfort you, but she started crying just as quickly as you had

now the two of you were all the friends you had left. the trio was now just a duo, again

ghondor and you were just crying without exchanging a word for quite a while, until you were too exhausted to cry anymore

there weren't any comforting words you could tell each other, no words that would change anything

but the two of you were able to be there for each other

ghondor and you spend the next few days together, trying to cope with things in your own way

the most comforting thing you two could do right now was stay together and talk about all those happy memories you had with shania, until it slowly started to hurt less and less when you said her name…

[frickingnerd]

giving monica a hickey

pairing: monica vandham x gn!reader

tags: flustered monica, established relationship, wholesome fluff

monica is both well respected and often looked down upon, as the leader of house vandham!

she's rather young for a leader, given that she had to take on that role after her father's death. so she often has to prove herself in any given situation!

monica can't allow herself to provide anything that could be used to criticize her!

which is why she gets quite upset at you when you give her a hickey on her neck, that is so clearly visible…

not only does she not want ghondor to find out about the two of you dating like this, but she doesn't want any of the other house leaders to think poorly of her for what you and her do behind closed doors

it's quite an odd view when monica suddenly shows up at the war room, wearing a scarf that doesn't fit her usual attire at all

despite all the comments and quiet mumbles about her new look, monica knows that this is still a lot better than if everyone saw that hickey you gave her

though it's quite humiliating to hear those whispers about her…

monica tells herself, that once she gets back home to you, she'll give you a hickey of your own and a taste of what it's like to have people whisper about you behind your back…

[frickingnerd]

betrayal

pairing: shania reid x gn!reader

tags: spoiler for chapter 5 of xc3, angst

a/n: i'm currently replaying xc3 and just got to the city part, so posting this now is perfect timing~

shania didn't know at which point things started to go wrong. maybe when you started to spend more time with ghondor than with her. maybe when she had made up her mind about betraying the city. 

shania always thought that the two of you were meant to be. yet somewhere along the way, you lost what you had. all those memories you two shared were now a bitter reminder of what once was and of what could've been. 

but you two chose different paths. you sided with ghondor and the city, while shania betrayed them. no matter how many times shania would get reborn, she knew that there would never be a life again in which she got to be by your side. she lost you for good the day she betrayed the city…