#i should make a shionne tag

[konfizry]

Something clicked today. 

Shaded Aster. The pew-pew gun-gun Shionne returns with in Pelegion. 

Like. You know how her first gun is called Noble Rose because that’s the kind of person she is. (like, you know, character’s equipment gotta align with the character’s vibes and theme and all, ‘specially the important pieces, nothing groundbreaking about that ofc). So like Noble Rose because of the way Shionne carries herself with haughtiness and poise and, well, the thorns. 

And like, an aster, as I keep forgetting, is a flower (aside from being a dude from DotNW), right? 

Thing is, that’s the flower Shionne is  --probably maybe but also absolutely totally 100% in all likelihood somehow-- named after. the Japanese name for that breed of flower is pronounced shion, like uh. yeah it’s right there.

. And like, these two pieces of info only connected in my brain today as I emerged from sleep. funny how slow on the uptake i can be sometimes.  

Anyway I just think it’s cute! Despite the circumstances in which Shaded Aster is obtained. symbolism and whatnot.  Alphen says in the skit that follows the Cooldown Hug animated cutscene that he’s glad got to see the real her (or to really connect with her or whatever). Like. Beyond the rose. maybe there’s a smaller, more approachable little blossom that hides in the shade IDK.  Also the name aster comes from the ancient greek word for star. and like, she uh. has part of an astral spirit inside of her so maybe that’s uhhhh... purely a coincidence but also maybe not!

[kohakhearts]

Time-Worn Tradition

When Rinwell brings it up, Alphen thinks he does remember festivities around midwinter, before battle and strife began to drain the Dahnans' spirits entirely. He's just not so sure about the extravagant decorations, or the...weird plants. But when everyone is so invested, what can he really say? It’s just two weeks, right?

fandom: tales of arise rating: t relationship(s): alphen/dohalim, alphen & shionne tags: fluff, humour, post-canon, holidays, getting together word count: 19k read here

Rinwell calls it an “astrological event,” something about the alignment of the planets and the stars, something about shifting seasons.

Alphen isn’t really following, until she says, “My people were the first to celebrate midwinter, but festivals still happened even after they all went into hiding. At least, that’s why my parents told me, but not many of our old traditions survived, and I doubt other Dahnans’ did either.”

Alphen straightens up, blinking. “Festivals? What, like—celebrations?”

She nods enthusiastically. “For about two weeks, until the end of the shortest day of the year. What we found, well—I’m not totally sure, but I think it’s a relic of one of those.”

Right. After sitting and listening to her lecture for so long, Alphen has almost forgotten that the whole reason they’re even talking about this at all is some new artefact she and Dohalim have uncovered for their exhibit. They still haven’t even shown it to them, though.

Kisara, at least, has been listening intently this whole time. On the other side of the room, Shionne and Law are bickering about dinner; Rinwell apparently wrote them off as a lost cause two hours ago.

“So,” Kisara says slowly, “you want to celebrate?”

Rinwell beams at her. “Yes! There are some things I learned from my family, and there might be more we can learn from this, so…”

Alphen’s mind is still on festivals, though. Midwinter…festivals…it sounds so oddly familiar, but…

“It seems to be some sort of candelabrum,” Dohalim tells them. “What Rinwell and myself came across, that is.”

“Right!” Rinwell gestures to something on the small table just behind her (is that the artefact? Alphen just assumed it was a part of the décor; Rinwell and Dohalim haven’t really gone about making this place look…conventional, to say the least). “It should fit five candles, and each one of them is marked differently. It took us a while to figure it out, but I think…they’re supposed to represent each of the Dahnan elements. The season spans twelve days, so five is a strange number if one is supposed to be lit each day, right? But on the last day, there’s a big feast, so I think it’s actually a centrepiece. And the candles are representative of coexistence—because no one is supposed to fight in the spirit of midwinter, you know?”

Law and Shionne are both looking at Rinwell again, now with great interest.

“What’s this about a feast?” Law asks.

Rinwell rolls her eyes. “Do you even think of anything other than when your next meal is?”

“It’s important for your muscles,” he protests. “Besides, who wouldn’t be excited about a feast?”

Alphen watches them for a moment, while Shionne nods in approval of Law’s remark, thinking about—feasts, coexistence, the spirit of midwinter…

“Well, if it means you’ll help—”

“I remember!” Alphen whirls around to face a startled Rinwell.

“Remember…what, Alphen?”

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[hiotsukeru-a]

new ps.d by @turbopirate​ / @zelotae​ . am coming back as i play again, i never actually beat it. i noticed back when it came out it was this huge rush to finish for writers when honestly? it’s a tal.es game to be blunt. it’s not going to take four weeks. it’s going to take a long time including sidequests.

my blog will have some canon-divergency and also explanation particularly the scenes with vholran.

1. shionne was not kidnapped. shionne let go of her will to live and let vholran take her. this woman used a rifle and shot him clean in the face, at a reception at a palace against a renan lord immediately took action and if not for dohalim having immaculate talent as well shionne would have killed him. it is not a damsel situation when alphen’s awakening was the final string in place that kept shionne, who finally knew touch and love, to suddenly lose it. she broke, and frankly this is one of the most tragic / broken tal.es characters i’ve ever seen yet still she is so incredibly resilient. it was not a kidnapping, it was a complete surrender of hope. 

2. shionne will still be wearing her regular clothes. i had no idea why the narrative had her suddenly change wardrobes ? it was kind of creepy. much less why she was muttering to herself unless she had entered the highest form of dissociation / ptsd which she has in my portrayal, and i have experienced both, so there is no romanticism. in my portrayal, shionne will still have her dark astral energy / thorns go out of control, but she will not be at vholran’s throne room. i don’t exactly know how i’ll handle the ganath haros situation, but if the thorns go unstable in one room? they’re likely to in the entire castle. remember aside from alphen, shionne arguably is the most dangerous character in the game because she is unwittingly the bringer of the apocalpyse hence her plan and desperation to end her immortal life so that she can take the ‘thorns out with her’ to prevent universal destruction of the world. 

3. there will be very dark themes present. shionne was a lab rat killed and resurrected countless times to test how she ‘ticked’. that’s only the tip of the iceberg. i will also address how shionne treated dahnans in the opening with the word ‘embedded’ and how i plan to implement her apologizing to everyone in caliglia / particularly nayth , for her prejudice. she openly admits she did not care and had prejudice for dahnans , and she overcomes this in a realistic manner, but will apologize to almost every party member in writing at some point / write out her conflicting feelings without trampling on my friends who are poc. trust me, i was wary to even touch shionne with the premise of this game. we’re going to damn well do this respectfully and carefully. and i trust my friends who are poc to let me know if i should touch up more on a topic in ar.ise.

i will not overlook this. shionne is an absolutely selfless, sweetheart of the cast, that does not mean she is without flaw. she grows and develops. 

4. i will be exploring until the game is beaten who knows how long -- her character in my spare time, as she is low activity with my best friend who mains my alphen . all triggers will be tagged and please tell me how you’d like your triggers tagged so i avoid making you feel horrible / uncomfortable / not safe. that is the least of my intentions. but yes, without romanticism as i am a brutally honest person? there’s going to be very very dark themes on this blog, and i won’t look away from them.