#it was either her or judith from vesperia.

[etrobeauty]

Part of me wants to start a new muse as like a start fresh new but at the same time don't have the energy to create new blog and chance of losing the muse.

[moon-swag-tourney]

please tell me about your blorbos/myshows i have questions

these are all the series/characters i want to hear more about,,, don't fret if your blorbo isn't on here, some of them i just don't want spoilers for, and others are from things I'm already a fan of!

this is. kind of long bc im curious about a lot of things. but if you spot your guy in here feel free to send me an ask or respond to this!! also this is just in alphabetical order lmao

The main things I'm looking for are:

About the character

The premise of the series theyre in

Please assume this has spoilers, btw!

Aruru Otsuki - Revue Starlight

tbh I don't understand what kind of franchise revue starlight is so that's my first question. But I also see that a lot of people love her and i wanna know what's up with that!! i heard a lot about her experiencing potential found family trauma and that's always interesting to see

Bayonetta

this is kind of a weird one bc tbh bayonetta is rlly popular as is, and it's something i've been wanting to get into for awhile, so my main question is: is it inappropriate for minors or could i watch it and if so what's the best order/sequence to watch the games in??

Cure Moonlight / Yuri Tsukikaga - Heartcatch Precure

tbh im just gay on this one. but I saw a lot of love for her even when she had zero propaganda so i wanna know what makes her so beloved by the precure fans?? and tbh if the precure she's in isn't too long i'll probably watch it

Hisoka Mikage - A3!

I'm gonna let you guys on a secret. this dude is the reason I wanted to make this. he only had one submission but on top of being a long one the amnesia storyline just appeals so deeply to me please tell me how I can absorb info about him and/or watch canon events of him oh my god

Judith - Tales of Vesperia

i think i mentioned it in the ask about her but she's seem interesting!! and im always down for some sapphic storylines!! a lot of it is just that ive heard the tales of vesperia name but never really knew what it was, but off of the descriptions i do have i could enjoy it and wanna hear what exactly it's about?

Moonlight Cookie - Cookie Run

i've. tried to get into cookie run before. but i just couldn't bring myself to care. so i guess my question is can you guys please tell me about how she's a lesbian, as someone who has zero bias whatsoever (lying i am a lesbian) and also just what appeals to you about the story so i can maybe give it a second shot?

Sigma Klim - Zero Escape

listen im all for mastermind plots, even if I know the plottwist going into it. ive seen fanart of 999 from an artist i've admired for awhile and it looks like it could be interesting but i don't know what the series is about so please tell me if you don't mind,,

Sirius Gibson - Witch's Heart

im a sucker for games with different endings, and also a sucker for small indie games that have a lot of passion put into them. i'm not actually sure if that's what this, but that's what i assume it is, and it looks interesting enough to give a chance either way? but i don't

Ursula Callistis / Shining Chariot - Little Witch Academia

so uh. fun fact. one of my siblings actually tried to get me into little witch academia once! and then we never continued bc i guessed the plot twist of the teacher being shining chariot, but that was very early on before i'd really gotten attached to anyone. what im trying to say is if you can pitch the writing and/or characters of this that would be epic sldkjf

Vanitas of the Blue Moon - Vanitas no Carte

i honestly can't remember what appealed to me about em off the top of my head, but it mightve been that one post with the gifs going a bit more into the lore of the story? as of now im just a sucker for the aesthetic but i wanna hear more about the premise to see if its my kind of story sdljf

Yue / Yukito Tsukishiro - Card Captor Sakura

i actually have friends who are fans of ccs! well. friends of friends im not super close to but it still counts! i wanna hear more about them bc tbh i both think he could be interesting and im sure said friends would appreciate it :'D i also just don't know a lot about ccs premise though, if you'd like to offer that instead!

[kitkatt0430]

Spirit of Hope for the title game?

So Spirit of Hope is intended to be a fic in the Ripple Effect series for Tales of Vesperia. Theoretically small. Probably bigger than I currently intend.

It's meant to have three parts to it, though I'm still working on part one.

While Yuri is helping Rita out in what he's all too aware is a mirror of the original events of his meeting Rita - minus Estelle and Karol's presence - he mentions fixing the barrier at Halure. Halure being a very lovely village that had to be abandoned when the barrier was damaged and began failing a few years earlier. He doesn't know how to explain about the Spirit that lives there, so he shows her instead once she stops grumbling at him for drawing too much attention and just goes there with him.

And she realizes that Yuri's natural ability for the Rizomata Formula - admittedly not as natural as she thinks, but he's not explaining parallel timelines right now when Yuri barely understands what happened yet himself - might hold the key to reversing the ecological damage caused by Alexei's Empire's unrestrained usage of blastia. She'd wanted to believe Yuri's weird story before but now? Now she has actual hope. Because if Yuri can revitalize a naturally occurring spirit then Rita might be able to use him to create entirely new ones too.

Part two is back over in Zaphias. Raven is coming to terms with his heart blastia not needing a core to work and recognizing that Alexei has basically been gaslighting him for years over this. He decides to ditch Alexei's Empire but it's not as simple as abandoning his identity as Captain Schwann and leaving in the middle of the night. He starts feeling out for knights who also want to leave - either to just straight up abandon post or flip to the other side, a rebellion being lead from one of the abandoned continents by the Prince Ioder and one of his most loyal Knights. Flynn Scifo. He's planning to not only bring as many knights as he can with him when he leaves... but he's going to see if he can kidnap the Princess Estellise with him if he can.

Part three is probably the shortest of the three parts. Ba'ul and Judith are flying together over the ocean, one of the few places left that isn't thoroughly tainted by aer overproduction by the Krene when Ba'ul senses the aer over one of the continents has begun to stabilize into mana, something that is extremely rare to happen and is thus unlikely to be naturally occurring. It's a good thing since mana is a lot safer in large quantities than aer is, all while fulfilling all the same purposes as aer. Ba'ul drops Judy off near the final resting place of Elucifer and she begins to head in the direction of Halure.

This fic is more of a setup for the next phase of the story - I'm kind of positioning characters like chess pieces. While Yuri and Rita continue their blast from the past journey that, for now, follows in the footsteps of the game's main plot, they're unwittingly leaving a lot of chaos in their wake and things are going to change a lot more rapidly than they realize.

I might wind up breaking these into separate fics, though, since the Yuri and Rita part is something I've been struggling with on and off for a while.

[innitnotfound]

Tales of vesperia!!!

Sooooooo I got tales (of vesperia) for like 20 dollars at a mall recently and here is my experience!!! Don't expect consistent updates lmao

When the opening cutscene was happening (where Yuri was sitting at the window) and Yuri hadn't talked yet (I had English voice on) I was like "oh she's really pretty,,," and then I heard his voice and i was like "OOP that's a man 😶"

He's still hot tho. Like genuinely. I've never found a guy THIS attractive before. Like I wouldn't want to do anything or get with him or anything like that, but like he's still really pretty. (Probably because I thought he was a girl at first 😶 the pretty boys always get me)

ESPECIALLY in the "reliable senior" outfit as well. On god. I just wish the attachments showed up on costumes so I could put glasses on RS!Yuri and lose my SHIT

Also Rita's outfit is an absolute VIBE, especially the boots, goddamn.

Also I haven't gotten Judith yet, but like... Goddamn 😳😳😳 (hot women have me acting unwise once more)

Also, I'm just saying... Flynn and Yuri? Kinda fruity thing they got going on ("I can't wait to see his face when he sees the revived great halure tree" why? So you can kiss him underneath it? So you can feel his soft lips on yours as cherry blossom petals flutter around you like in a romance novel? Gay ass.)

Edit: uhhhhhhhh this has been rotting in my drafts for god knows how long, at least since last year, but alot of stuff said still holds true.

Yuri is still hot, Judith, who I STILL haven't met, is still hot, Rita's still a vibe, and Flynn + Yuri are still hella gay to me (To the point where I said "*gasp* Toxic Yuri?" in the scene after you two reunite in rainsville USA)

But on new-er news, I just got to the Den of Guilds town and have to go somewhere because spoiler plot shit

I think Estelle has some shit going on with her. Granted i don't think she's evil, but I do think she's hiding things. I know the thing about her bastilla but besides that, nothing.

Also it's really one of two characters at this point, but I think Dragon Guy is either Raven or Judith. We need a way to fast travel *eventually*, unless we're just supposed to walk everywhere, and a dragon rider would be the perfect way to do that

Judith because she strikes me as the "dragon rider" type, and it would be cool as hell if her introduction was this badass dragon rider tbh, and all I'm saying is as far as I remember, I've never seen Raven and Dragon Guy in the same room (along with Raven also strikes me as a dragon rider.)

Leaning a litttttttle more towards Raven at this point, if only for the fact that "Hidden in plain sight" seems more likely than "New character being introduced", buuuuuut also if this whole Dragon Guy sub-plot turns out to be Judith's Introduction, I'm not gonna say I didn't call it

Anyways now I'm just going places I'm *really* probably not supposed to be at this point, and beating up Zincs and Bronzes for items to sell, despite being probably no where near the point plot-wise where I should logically be going in that area yet.

In my defense, if they didn't want me going there, they should have blocked me off from it

aaannnnnnddddddd that's it for now! Can't say expect consistent updates, but there will... Probably be updates

[ormspryde]

Some short character profiles I did for the cyberpunk Vesperia AU I'm outlining right now:

Patty: An experimental mech pilot who escaped from the science district with her mech.  With no memory of the time before the experiments inflicted on her, she uses her wits and her machine to survive in the harsh landscape outside the dome.  Occasionally she experiences thoughts and memories that don't seem to be her own...

Damuron/Schwann/Raven: A system created by the trauma of being brought back from the dead after the Great War.  Schwann tends to be in front while they're in Imperial Megacity, and Raven while they're in Dahngrest; Damuron rarely comes out at all.  They have a lot of responsibilities in either town, but now and again they either manage to relax or someone makes them - usually that someone is either Yeager or Whitehorse.

Yuri Lowell: An adrenaline junkie who rides his bike for kicks and to drive the dragoons crazy.  He was once part of that institution and got some decent implants out of the deal, but he left when he realized they weren't going to let him do jack for the undercity.  He gets by doing odd delivery jobs and selling vaporthorn.  He feels stifled living where he does, but he also doesn't feel like he can leave.

Rita: An orphaned ward of the state, Rita works as an independent government researcher in the science district.  Her primary interests are nanobots and aer, with a side interest in the field of cybernetics.  In her very sparse downtime, she either relaxes in cyberspace or reads one of the hardcopy books she keeps in her quarters.

Estellise: An experimental AI housed in the security wing of the dragoons' district, Estellise knows little of the outside world other than the sparse digital library she has access to.  Her only real social contacts are in cyberspace and with the scientists who run experiments on her.  She has an advanced android body she can upload herself, but she's rarely allowed to.

Repede: Repede is a cyberdog with enhanced reflexes, senses, intelligence, and fighting ability.  He's bonded with Yuri, who stole him when he left the dragoons.  Repede is picky about people, but is more disdainful than usual about both Estelle and Yeager.

Judith: Judith travels widely with her friend ba'ul, when she can.  She maintains ties to the hidden city of Myorzo, where she grew up, but she rarely visits so as not to draw the attention of the Empire to it.  Inside the megacities, she has to rely on more mundane transport; if Ba'ul is captured, it means a fate worse than death for him.  She knows Duke, and occasionally helps him out.

Karol: 'Adopted' in turn by a number of street gangs in Dahngrest, Karol has a variety of skills, including some less-than-legal talents such as hacking and lockpicking.  His cowardice has gotten him shunned by most of the gangs he's been in, until he's come to not expect anything better for himself other than to simply survive.

Flynn:  Flynn stayed with the dragoons where Yuri chose to leave, though he still maintains his ties in the undercity, where they grew up together.  When the story begins, one of his duties is inspecting power facilities around the megacity.

Yeager:  Yeager's the owner and operator of Leviathan's Claw, a corporation devoted mostly to operating pleasure clubs and smuggling drugs in various cities, although he has a number of mercenaries and assassins at his disposal.  A survivor of the Great War, Yeager is under Alexei's hold - although the yoke is beginning to chafe.  He lives vicariously through his beloved daughters, and gets together with Raven, when they happen to be in Dahngrest.

Duke:  Duke is one of the vanishingly few humans that know the location of the last group of free Entelexeia.  He is almost fanatically devoted to the cause of freeing the Entelexeia the Empire has captive in their power plants, but secretly only wishes to see his dear friend Elucifur again.

[mewnia]

any headcanons you have for the tales series?

Oh definitely! I have gained a lot of head-canons after learning what it means. Let’s see how many I have for the localized games – 

Symphonia

-Both Colette and Zelos have depression, but Colette doesn’t know she has it and brushes it off as “not important enough.”

-Presea’s body starts growing again but from the age it was at. Meaning she goes through puberty like a normal teen even though she’s actually in her 30′s. But this also means she lives longer than she would have and would be one of the last members of the group still alive when the human members start to die off.

-By the previous logic Emil has a body that’s two years older than his mentality which actually takes a couple years off his life. So post true ending Emil would die before Marta. 

-Lloyd and Colette both get awkward around each other when marriage is mentioned only because they’re worried about moving too fast for the other. But both of them want to take that step! The whole gang eventually starts making plans for getting Lloyd to propose but every time it’s interrupted by something completely unexpected in the most silly way possible (like Colette’s clumsiness) until Lloyd and Colette make the decision themselves without the help of the others. Just… It’s all silly, the entire situation is that cute, awkward, “you want to do it but the universe says not until you’re in the perfect setting” kind of thing.

Vesperia

-Flynn is bi and Estelle is pan, and I think Yuri and Rita being gay is a largely accepted head-canon in the fandom.

-Ioder has a brilliant mind and is actually rather devious in the empire. He trusts Flynn as one of the few knights he can vent to and mocks the people on the council in very subtle ways in conversations/meetings with them.

-Flynn learned First Aid when he became lieutenant to lift some work off the shoulders of the female knights in his squad. Also because he wanted to heal any wounds Yuri would have the next time he saw him.

-Judith has abs.

-Patty is totally a freckled gal.

-Brave Vesperia becomes one of the most reliable guilds and takes on a similar reputation that Fairy Tail does.

-I’m open to the idea of Yuri being trans

Abyss

-Post game Luke either loses all of his memories or gains all of Asch’s and I don’t know which one to pick.

-Guy becomes a famous engineer. Let the dude live his dream with fontech.

Graces

-Asbel has depression and is a suppressed gay where he’s convinced himself he’s straight.

-Richard is gay for Asbel but values Asbel’s happiness more than his own and never verbally tells him. I read a really good story about the relationship between Asbel and Richard and how Richard becomes totally depressed and unintentionally reclusive after Asbel’s wedding and the whole thing is beautiful but I don’t remember where I read it.

-Pascal invents dry shampoo

Xillia

-I like to think of Jude and Leia being 17 rather than 15. (and then 18 rather than 16 in X2)

-Every now and then I play with the idea of Jude being trans. 

-Milla is pan, and the relationship between her and Jude is a lot like Rose and Greg from Steven Universe. 

-Ludger’s personality is a lot like how the Undertale fandom sees Frisk.

-At first Julius hated Ludger but grew to love him, much like Wirt and Greg from Over the Garden Wall.

-There is a comic strip series in the newspapers similar to Garfield and Julius is a huge fan of it. One time he snuck lasagna to Rollo.

-Alvin is a huge sucker for Jazz

Zestiria

-Sorey is Ace

-Alisha is bi and started to develop feelings for Sorey until she saw him interact with Mikleo and chose to respect that relationship.

-Edna begrudgingly starts to talk in puns to cheer up Lailah when she’s down.

-They were cowards to not make Heldalf Sorey’s father.

-Mikleo was actually really torn after learning about Camlann and his mother but held it together to act strong. Like, come on. They didn’t do too much with showing Camlann’s destruction, at least give me this.

-Rose catches herself nerding out about some fact about a ruin after Sorey’s gone and has a moment of “Oh no” and a small identity crisis

Berseria

-Velvet is Aro

-Magilou would be totally open to memes, along with Rokurou.

-Rokurou saw Laphicet as a little brother and would be reminded of him and Shigure every now and then. When that happened he would distance himself from Phi.

-Velvet has abs. The writers and artists were cowards.

-Eleanor tried to stop Magilou from her self-depreciating jokes one day but gave up around lunch the next.

-Eleanor also successfully fixed Velvet’s clothes but then gave up after they were ruined again in a fight after the fifth try.

-Artorius gave Laphicet to Teresa because she reminded him of Velvet. It shocked a lot of exorcists because he was very strict on who could have him.

And that’s the amount I’ve had! I might add on if I remember any more. You can tell which games I’m not too personal with :P But also all of this is just my opinion! 

[fontasticcrablettes]

In your story "Out of Time" a seven year old Yuri was transported to the future/alternate reality where the events of the game played out differently. What kind of story would've happened if a seven year old Flynn was the one that got transported to the future? How different would that world and Yuri be if Flynn wasn't there to play his canonical role in the game?

That’s an interesting thought!  So let’s say it’s a straight-up inversion of the fic: Flynn was the one hiding during hide-and-seek, and he was never found (because he accidentally went to the future).  

A lot of Yuri’s self-esteem issues stem from growing up in Flynn’s shadow.  He always compared himself to Flynn and found himself coming in second. On the other hand, his other set of issues come from a rocky childhood with no proper family.  He says “the whole lower quarter raised me” but having an entire community looking out for you is not a replacement for a strong parental bond.  Yuri was abandoned by his father, lost his mother, and I can’t imagine that losing his best friend - the closest thing he has to an actual family relationships - would be great for him.  Flynn disappearing would probably be a major loss of innocence for young Yuri.  It cements to him that life is just not fair, good things can be taken from you in a moment with no warning, and you can’t trust anyone to stay in your life.

So i think we would end up with a 21 year old Yuri who is both more confident in himself, and also far more cynical and less open to others.  More hesitant to form friendships in general.  He joins the Knights as he did in canon, since that was a personal dream of his and not just following Flynn, but he’s disillusioned and dropped out. 

The start of the game would play out pretty similarly up until Yuri gets to the castle.  Then, the major issue arises that Estelle has no reason to be trying to sneak out of the castle, because Flynn isn’t around.  So there’s a good chance that in this version of canon, Yuri never meets Estelle and Estelle never leaves Zaphias.  

Yuri still goes on to Halure, recruits Karol and Rita, etc.  Halure tragically is never revived, because Estelle isn’t around.  Estelle’s presence doesn’t attract Judith and Ba’ul, so they don’t join either.  I think Raven would be around less, too, because with Flynn absent, Alexei may decide to use Schwann for a lot of the things he tasked Flynn with, like infiltrating the coliseum and looking for apatheia.  

After Yuri recovers the aque blastia, there’s really no telling where the plot might go.  Rita goes back to Aspio because she doesn’t stick around for Estelle, and Brave Vesperia consists only of Yuri, Karol, and Repede.  In fact, would a Yuri who’s so much more hesitant to rely on others and form close friendships even agree to form a guild in the first place?  Estelle isn’t there to give them their mission of finding Phaeroh.

The plot might get back on track if Alexei takes Estelle directly from the castle.  Yuri and Karol don’t know her personally, but they still want to stop Alexei.  

Overall, there would be a lot of differences, though many of them stem from Flynn being the reason Estelle gets involved in the plot.  Her absence impacts the plot quite a bit.  

[lady-byleth]

Some of you have probably already seen my theory that Yuri is somehow less affected by aer than normal people, and because we have barely any details of what Terca Lumireis was like in the past, I've gone nuts with the theory

So, Estelle is an outlier. She's apparently the first Child of the Full Moon in ages to be this powerful and is an even bigger threat to the world than all the Blastia combined.

But the Children of the Full Moon weren't always a threat to the world, right? Not until the Geraios Civilization created Blastia and the need for aer outgrew what the Aer Krene could create, causing the first Adephagos

But why?

The quick answer would be the Entelexeia, but there must've been thousands of Children of the Full Moon! Just look at the size of Zaude, a combination of the lives of all those Children who sacrificed themselves. That thing is huge and it comes from people with maybe 25 years of life on average, yet Phaeroh's Apatheia - the one that had the most time to form since he was the oldest Entelexeia - was maybe the size of a watermelon.

There can't have been enough Entelexeia to completely counter the effect of so many Children of the Full Moon that they can build a sprawling metropolis like the City of the Waning Moon.

So how is it that until Blastia the Children weren't an issue for the Aer Krene?

To me, the answer is Brave Vesperia.

Yuri was written as a deliberate mirror of the Brave Vesperia of legend, who was a mirror to his magical sister.

What if there was a people that inspired Brave Vesperia, a people that balanced the Children of the Full Moon?

That would mean it had to be something that would naturally and constantly counteract the overactive aer production. Perhaps a formula that always passively slows the flow of aer?

If there was a balance, kept by Brave Vesperia and by the Entelexeia in case the numbers fluctuated, it would make sense that there was no problem with the aer until the Blastia.

Later, the surviving Children of the Full Moon were locked away under Zaude where they couldn't affect the Aer Krene anymore and stuff settled down with the help of Dein Nomos - a formula that suppresses the powers of the Children of the Full Moon and has to have come from somewhere, maybe based on Brave Vesperia? - until Estelle, who was incredibly powerful despite the thinned bloodline.

Meanwhile Yuri shows subtle signs of being less affected by aer than others. In the Quoi Woods Estelle collapses very quickly whereas he is completely fine, in Caer Bocram he is the only one who barely exhibits any symptoms despite standing basically ankle deep in dense aer and he's able to move longer than the others against the Baitojoh. That can also not be attributed to Dein Nomos alone because that thing generates a field that would have affected everyone and not just Yuri

Yuri is also incapable of using magic, which he allows Estelle to write off as him being bad at studying but that is a blatant lie. He only needs to watch Clint do the Fatal Strike once before he can perfectly copy it, he needs to read about Tiger Blade once and can immediately pull it off perfectly. Yuri may not be book smart, but he's incredibly intelligent and can learn by watching. That would probably also apply to magic.

But if he's physically incapable of channeling aer in a way that makes magic possible, it would make sense. And explaining that when he doesn't understand it himself is complicated.

Rita and Judith wouldn't notice it either. Rita wasn't actively looking for a small change in aer flow and had no reason to suspect another strange formula in her battle maniac friend. Judith is sensitive to aer flow by nature but finding something that isn't there is probably a lot harder than finding something that's there, especially when it is as strong as Estelle.

And if Yuri is a descendant of the Brave Vesperia of old, the bloodline would have thinned considerably so it could be he simply isn't as powerful as his ancestors.

Tl,dr: I have the theory that the Children of the Full Moon had a counterpart in Brave Vesperia, balancing aer between them with the occasional interference of the Entelexeia and that Yuri is a descendant of those people because of his resistance to aer in general. But while Estelle is incredibly powerful despite the thinned bloodline, Yuri doesn't have as much power as she does so they can't balance each other out.

Thanks for coming to my TEDTalk

[felinisfeloney]

So I’ve just kinda been thinking about Judith and how her being 19 is both interesting and inherently off putting in some ways from a writing perspective.

I thought Judith when I first played Vespy was a few years older than Yuri at the very least. Mostly, I didn’t think she was 30ish despite acting that way was because Raven mentioned not seeing a kid on the battlefield at Mt. Temza. Judith does not act in any real form like 19-year-old which is fun to think about in that whole how trauma and emotional isolation can age a person aspect but the part that actually ruins this for me is the sexual aspect and it’s not the eye candy factor but the fact that Judith has no shame. There’s nothing wrong with having complete confidence in your body and I personally like wearing Judith-esque stuff when I’m not drowning myself in petticoats but Judith feels experienced in this. World-weary even and that feels odd for a young person in my opinion.

Flirting seems very old hat for Judith which either says she’s closer to Raven’s age than Yuri’s or she’s been sexualized for longer than I like to be comfortable imaging even though I know this does happen a lot irl and in anime. It’s one of those breaking points for me because I do wish there were more older female characters in general and Judith would have been easy to do this with. In fact I wish that characters in anime in general just acted closer to their age. I can actually for the most part buy that everyone in Vesperia is the age they say they are because of how the world is but then you go to something like Xillia and I really truly did not think Jude was 16 because he was in med school and for a tales game it was civilization where you’d think kids could actually have childhoods that go past age 12. Abyss has the same problem but I like to think that because their calendar is weird everyone is older then the you think

But yeah… I don’t inherently hate Judith being 19 because it is fun to think about Judith’s personality in how someone so young develops into someone that seems emotionally mature but socially stunted in terms of how she handles relationships. Especially Estelle. But also it just reads feels gross that Judith is probably one of the most mature female characters and she’s barely an adult. She’s portrayed as a mature woman… But hey, as we all know woman in media that live past 30 are either jokes, mother figures, or villains.

[delkios]

Harder to Breathe (ToV)

Look, I just have Thoughts about that hit Flynn took for Yuri and the lack of explicit let's-tell-you're-best-friend-you're-not-dead that followed.

Title: Harder to Breathe Fandom: Tales of Vesperia Rating: PG Word Count: 2344 Characters: Flynn, Yuri, Estelle, additional appearances by Rita, Sodia and others Summary: Obligatory post-Zaude fic. It's difficult knowing someone so strong can still be so vulnerable.

The sharp clash of blade on blade filtered through the pain, Flynn clutched at his chest reflexively. It felt raw and when his blastia shifted where Alexei's attack had hit, it left him gasping.

"Sir," Sodia said, her hands on his back, "please don't move!"

"Have to," he was having trouble getting his breath back, "Yuri..." Flynn coughed raggedly. Then coughed harder because he couldn't seem to get enough air. His head was swimming but he could see his sword laying on the ground and, beyond it, Yuri and Alexei fighting. Flynn rolled away from Sodia, arms shaking as he crawled forward.

"Captain, please!" She grabbed at him again, pinning him down. "Lady Estellise!"

"I'm here! Flynn, where did you get-" Estelle placed herself firmly between Flynn and the fight and gasped. "Flynn! Your lips are turning blue!"

"I... I can't..." he tried to pull away again, tried to look around Estelle to see what was happening. He closed his eyes as the warmth of Estelle's healing arte washed over him. He felt marginally better but when he tried to push upright, Flynn collapsed.

"What happened?" Sodia asked, her voice beginning to pitch into panic as Flynn started gasping again. "Did it not work?"

"I don't- it should have!" Estelle tried again. Flynn curled over, fingers digging into his chest around his blastia. "Flynn!"

"Look out!" Judith braced herself over Estelle's back, curling over the younger woman as Sodia reflexively shielded her captain. Beyond them, the apatheia crashed into the platform with a thunderous crack, debris thrown everywhere and it took a moment for the tremors and echoing noise to die down.

When Judith moved back, Estelle's focus zeroed back onto Flynn, sweat beading on his face. She cried desperately, "Flynn, what's wrong? What hurts?"

A hand rolled Flynn onto his back. "Avert your eyes, ladies," Raven said, shouldering into the group, his tone serious despite the lightness of his words. His hands went for Flynn's belt, undoing it with a flick and fingers making quick work of the clasps on Flynn's tabard. Raven tugged the black shirt where it was tucked into Flynn's waist band, slid his dagger underneath, blade-edge up, and said, "Schwann'll pay for it," before sawing through the material.

When Raven moved back, leaving Flynn bare chested, Estelle's hands flew to her face. "Oh, Flynn!" A blister, about palm-sized, lay angry red and bubbled sickly yellow in a starburst shape against his chest. She reached out to him again, hands hesitating because her healing hadn't done much to help him at all.

"This..." Sodia said so softly. "I've never seen a wound like that before..."

"It's a second degree aer burn," Rita said suddenly. "I," she flexed her hand, like she was stopping it from moving, "I'm familiar with it. That hit he took for Yuri must've been a compressed aer blast."

"What do we do?" Estelle asked, looking up at the mage. "How do I fix it?" There were tears in her eyes, hands hovering, wanting to do something but afraid to do more damage.

Sodia moved aside as Rita knelt down by Flynn, examining the wound. Her eyes were intense but unfocused, thoughts moving at lightspeed in her head. "It's that blastia of his," she said. "All blastia has an inscription that draws aer to it automatically to power the core. For bodhi blastia, it's usually a small amount that won't cause harm to the person using it. When that attack hit his blastia, it must have automatically collected the concentrated aer."

"Are you saying he's suffering from aer sickness?" Estelle ask but Rita shook her head.

"If it was just aer sickness, it'd either be effecting all of us or it would have dissipated by now." Rita's fingers clenched on her crossed arms were going white. "I think the aer is trapped in his chest cavity."

"Then... what do I do?"

"Try," Rita said, unusually hesitant, "try to draw on the aer that's inside of him."

"I... I never tried to draw aer from a specific location before." She looked down at Flynn's face, paler than she'd ever seen, eyes swimming, barely conscious. Estelle placed her hands over his chest, just hovering above the blister, and closed her eyes. "Please," she begged no one, her palms glowing and small motes of light rising from Flynn's chest. "Please. I don't want to lose anyone else."

Estelle's brow knitted as she converted the aer into her arte, healing those around her because she was wary of directing it back into Flynn. It took but a few moments, agonizingly stretched for eternity, before his breathing evened out, the blue fading from his skin and the strain eased off his face. Flynn managed to take his first deep breath without coughing and opened his eyes, only then was Estelle comfortable using another healing arte on him. Flynn tilted his head to where the apatheia had fallen. "Yuri?" He asked, voice still feeble but stronger than it had been.

"From what I can tell," Judith called from where she was examining the patch of red leaking out through the cracks in the platform, "the former Commandant is the only one under here."

Karol let out a breath, sitting heavily on his haunches. "Thank goodness."

Flynn wasn't so mollified, trying to push himself upright. "Then where-"

"No." Estelled pushed on his shoulders, forcing him back down. "You need to rest, Flynn."

"But Yuri-"

"I-I don't see him." It took a moment to find Sodia on the edge of the group. Estelle hadn't even notice she left. "I think... he fell." Sodia was pale, fidgeting, looking utterly lost and Estelle would've felt sympathy for her- seeing Flynn like this and unable to help him couldn't be easy on her, it certainly wasn't for Estelle -but she had more important things to worry about because Flynn was trying to get up again.

"Stop it!"

"No," though his color had returned, Flynn's arms were still trembling. "I have to... find-

"You can't even get away from me," Estelle said sternly, putting more weight down on Flynn's shoulders. "You're in no shape to go anywhere!"

He struggled for a moment still but was unable to do anything more without risk of hurting Estelle or himself further. With a shaky sigh, he went limp. "Sodia," he craned his head to look up at his lieutenant, desperation and determination shining through the pain in his eyes. "Please. Find Yuri. He's my family."

She seemed to go even paler, eyes dropping away and body as tight as a string about the snap. "...yessir." Repede bounded off to the other end of the platform, nose to the ground and the others followed after to help in the search, leaving Estelle to watch over Flynn on her own.

"If he really did fall," Flynn's voice was quiet, not really speaking to anyone, "I'll find him. I'll go after him myself. I can't lose him."

"He'll be fine," Estelle said, running her hand through Flynn's hair. Even with Flynn next to her, even with all her friends- all but one -within eyesight, Estelle felt terrifyingly small and alone. "He'll be fine."

~*~*~*~

Yuri was glad Estelle suggested waiting until morning to regather the group. Even though he'd just woken up, he was still exhausted and sore- Estelle may have healed the lingering damage of his wound but there wasn't much she could do about the strain already on his body from trying to heal naturally. On top of that, he was going to have to get some new gear, what with Duke taking back his sword and sea salt having sat in his armor and clothes for a week. He didn't have the time or patience to try and clean it out, best to just get it all replaced. That wasn't even getting into how long it would take to scrub the salt scent from his skin and his hair would take forever to get back to normal.

Though considering the alternative would be some strange guy thinking he had free reign over Yuri's unconscious body for a week, he was grateful for Duke's prudency for just sticking to the wound.

Estelle turned to head back to the palace before stopping. "Oh, do you want to write to Flynn and let him know you're alright? I don't know where he is, but the knights will get it to him."

"Nah, that's alright." Yuri stood and stretched. His side still twinged a little and he'd bet there'd be a scar there when he'd removed Duke's bandage, but it was much better than it had been before.

"Alright. I can write something, then."

"You don't have to."

She looked confused. "Someone should."

"He's got more important things to worry about."

Estelle turned to him fully, her expression tight. "I think it's too late for that."

"C'mon, Estelle," he tried not to think about her words earlier, about Flynn sending out ships to scour the damn ocean for him, "give him a little more credit."

"I saw how much your disappearance effected him."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"Why are you downplaying this?" Estelle's expression tightened further and Yuri was surprised at the anger on her face. "He took a concentrated aer blast to the chest, Yuri! If Rita wasn't there to help me figure out the problem, his lungs might've collapsed! It missed his heart by inches and he was still willing to dive off Zaude to find you!"

"Look," Yuri said between tight molars, uncomfortable with Estelle's words, "just say what you want to say."

Hands fisted down at her side, Estelle snapped out, "Flynn isn't as strong as you think he is!"

He couldn't help the incredulous look he shot Estelle because that was ridiculous. Flynn had always been the strong one. Asides from the occasional lows of their relationship, he'd always been Yuri's rock, anchor, guiding point- whatever. "He's the most determined, single-minded guy I know." And Yuri was including himself.

Estelle's expression softened, eyes darkening with emotion and voice wavering. "You didn't see him, Yuri. He took command of the knights and he did his job as well as we expected him to but... that was it. It was like he was hollow inside. He was helpless. All he could do was have ships out looking for you and because he couldn't be there himself, all he could do was wait. So he just kept working because if he stopped he'd remember that you weren't there. There was only so much I or Ioder could do for him." Estelle took a deep breath, willing away the tears Yuri could see welling in her eyes. "Flynn needs you the same way you need him."

That... that scared him almost as much as seeing what Flynn was on the verge of becoming in Nordopolica. "I didn't ask him to do all that for me," he said, a little sharper than he meant, but annoyance was a far more welcome emotion than fear.

"You didn't have to, he's your friend!"

"He has better things to spend his energy on than me. The Adephagos, the problems Alexei caused, the damage done to Zaphias- on a list of priorities, I shouldn't even be at the bottom of it!"

"Why do you keep saying things like that?"

"Because personal isn't the same as important!"

Yuri's voice range out for a moment in the empty street. He turned away from Estelle's stunned expression in order to get himself back under control. "We have a dream," he said eventually. "Flynn's in a much better position to achieve it than I am, but he can't do it if he keeps wasting time on me."

"Why can't it both?" Estelle moved over to Yuri, standing in front of him again. "Why can't personal be the same as important sometimes?" Her eyes were hard and jaw firm. "I told you: Flynn needs you the same way you need him. You give him strength, you guide him when he loses his way, you remind him of the promise you two made and motivates him to keep going even when the world keeps trying to beat him back." She took Yuri's hand in both of hers. "No matter what else you might think, you're important to Flynn. And you're important to me, and Rita and Karol and the others. None of us are going to give up on you. Like you wouldn't give up on us."

"Yeah." Yuri turned his hand over so he could squeeze Estelle's before pulling away. "Doesn't make it okay for him to go jumping in front of attacks for me."

"Maybe if you wore armor like he does, he wouldn't have done it," Estelle said a little sourly.

"I know." Yuri shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he said in an even and genuine tone.

Estelle bit her lip. "Me, too. I didn't mean to make it sound like I was blaming you."

"Nah, I get it. When someone you care about is hurting and there's nothing you can do to help them, it's only natural that you get angry." Yuri hated being the one to cause his friends pain, especially when it was Flynn. He gave her a small smile, hoping his self-depreciation wasn't showing through. "I'm glad you were there for him."

Estelle smiled back softly.Silence stretched between them, not quite awkward but not exactly comfortable, before Estelle asked quietly, "Do you still not want me to write to him?"

Yuri sighed, looking down at Repede who looked right back up at him as if he thought Yuri was being ridiculous. He probably was. Everything was probably so much simpler to a dog. "Nah, go ahead. Wouldn't know what to write besides 'Not dead yet' and you know he'll just nag at me about it next time we see him."

Estelle giggled. "He would. I suppose I should do it to save you from being lectured."

This time Yuri's smile was genuine, saying all the things he couldn't say. "Thanks, Estelle."

[teefa85]

Second Section of this little scavenger hunt.  Same rules...I can use a picture from any show or game, as long as I can identify them, even if I haven’t seen it personally.  Since it’s a hunt more than a “I want a pic of this chara”

Character Situations

Main Character The main character of any show or game.  If there are two characters counted as the lead, you can use either of them! FOUND...Sword and Shield Male and Female protagonists with Lillie

Main Antagonist Now, as Anime sometimes shift who the Main Antagonist is (due to subordinates taking over after a main villain dies, or even just new antagonists every arc) and games do this from time to time too, as long as the person spends some time as the major threat in the heroes’ eyes, it will count. FOUND...Shigaraki with Himiko (Hero Aca)

Two Cosplayers as a Canon Couple Now, I know “canon” can sometimes be debatable when it comes to a series.  Therefore, we’re only going for 100% verified couples who get together by the ending, between a show/game and a sequel series, or they’ve been stated to be romantically involved by the creators themselves.  So for characters who appear to be canon but don’t officially get together (such as Ark and Ivy from CIMA...I know you don’t know who they are but that means nobody is going to complain about me using them as an example), they wouldn’t count. FOUND...Alm and Celica (Fire Emblem Echoes)

Two Cosplayers as a Non-Canon Couple This is for any couple that 100% DOESN’T get together (usually because one or more of them are involved with someone else, or the show/game isn’t romantic in nature).  Again, that means you can’t use people (like, again, Ark and Ivy) who seem to be canon but aren’t 100% confirmed, as they exist in a gray zone between canon and non-canon.  However, if the character is from a Harem that doesn’t answer who the MC canonically got with, any of the characters would be fair game (unless one is heavily implied to be the canonical love interest, but then you could use any of the other characters).  You should probably try to choose a pair that is clearly playing them as a couple.  However, if you can’t find any, feel free to choose any pic of two people you ship together, or possibly just make finding a duo acting romantic as bonus points.  But...nothing with any extra characters in it (unless you’re playing it off as an OT3, OT4, etc.). FOUND...Ophilia and Therion (Octopath Traveler).  Hey!  I’m in one of these!  The non-canon couples were pretty dry this year and this is my favorite ship for her.  Even if we didn’t take the pic as a shipping pic.

Cosplaying Family Sometimes, the parents who cosplay will do a family cosplay with their kids.  This must contain at least one adult and one child or teenager, and they must be in costumes from the same game or show!  Not a family where one parent went as Kagome, one child went as Deku, and the second child went as a Pokemon Trainer. FOUND...Robin, Tharja, and Morgan (Fire Emblem Awakening)

Guy With a Giant Weapon It can be wide.  It can be tall.  It can even be both!  As long as the damn thing is nearly as large or larger than you (or at least as large as your convention rules will allow) it can work! FOUND...Breath of the Wild Link with a Lynel Sword (Legend of Zelda)

Character With Lots of Weapons He doesn’t have to naturally carry them all on him in the game/show.  Or even be a dude!  But as long as you see someone running around with at least 3 weapons, you can use it! FOUND...a Cloud getting weapons ready for a fake duel (FF7)

Superhero I don’t care if it’s an American Comic Book hero, a Magical Girl, or a Japanese take on the American Super Hero!  If the character can be classified as a Super Hero, you can use them! FOUND...Tsu (Hero Aca)

Magic User Tomes, Staves, Scrolls.  Healing or Destruction.  Human or Non-Human!  If the character’s power is over mystical forces, they fit! FOUND...Flonne, Fallen Angel Version (Disgaea)

Deity Character They can be a god or goddess who shaped and created the world.  Someone with limitless power.  Or even along the lines of “nigh immortal and doesn’t consider themselves divine but is considered a god.”  Just as long as they’re seen as divine by someone within the universe.  Demon or Youkai Gods do count if that’s all you can find. FOUND...A Konosuba Group, so that means Aqua was there (Konosuba)

Dragon Character They can be in a full dragon suit, use body paint, look human but have some draconic features such as wings or a tail.  Or even just be fully transformed into their human form.  If the game or show classifies them as a Dragon, they work! FOUND...a hilarious pic of Corrin and Azura doing Jojo Poses due to a botched FEH summoning ritual (Fire Emblem Fates)

Demon Character Good Demons or Evil Demons, it doesn’t matter.  I’d even count Youkai in this mix if you manage to find someone from a series that focuses on it (there are usually a few Touhou characters running around).   Just as long as their series of origin classifies them as a Demon in some way. FOUND...Rin, actually in full Demon Mode (Blue Exorcist)

A “How Do They Battle Evil in This?” outfit Sometimes...games and anime make no sense!  Too skimpy!  Dress too long!  Complete fashion disaster where their only victories should be due to making the enemy laugh so hard!  It all can count as long as you or other people ask this question about them. FOUND...Judith (Tales of Vesperia) although she was also with Flynn who definitely does not count on this!

Pokémon Trainer They can be an actual character in the games or anime, a representation of one of the Trainer Classes in the games, or even just someone wearing normal clothes but running around with Pokeballs and at least one plushie!  Although, you can choose to only go for actual characters or classes, or make getting one of them a bonus point. FOUND...Red with a Pikachu and Charmander

Any Pokémon Design Reinterpreted as Clothing Seriously!  I’ve seen some creative things, such as the Hoenn Weather Trio being reinterpreted as a Kimono (Kyogre), a Samurai (Groudon), and a Ninja (Rayquaza).  People who cosplay actual Pokemon usually do an amazing job at capturing their chosen ‘mon in human outfits. FOUND...Schoolgirl Scorbunny

Animal Companion Any animal that might assist the heroes, regardless of whether or not they are the game or show’s mascot.  Even if that character is only around for minimal time, if they appeared and helped out, they count! FOUND...Rubble, Sky, Marshall, Chase (Paw Patrol...no, really, they even helped cheer up a crying baby at one point)

Mascot Character The opposite of above!  It’s a mascot, regardless of whether said mascot is an animal, a mechanical lifeform, or even a mecha!  As long as it’s very synonymous with the series of origin, it works! FOUND...Detective Pikachu (Pokemon)

Fursuit Whether they’re portraying an actual animal character or their own furry avatar, it doesn’t really matter.  As long as they’re in a full on fursuit that you have to hand it to them for wearing even in the summer! FOUND...Susie (Delta Rune)

Group of Bishonen Doesn’t all have to be from the same series.  As long as a group of friends are portraying a bunch of hot guys, it fits.  Also, they don’t have to be the only people in the group, like if you got lucky and managed to find the entirety of a Reverse Harem’s cast which included the female lead they were all going crazy over.  As long as most of the people are playing guys, it’s cool. FOUND...Fire Emblem Lord Group (that also had Lucina and Celica)

Character From a Game That’s Not Out Yet As long as you took the picture before the game is out, it’s fine.  Even if said game is going to be coming out within a few days! FOUND...Kris and Ralsei (Delta Rune), though if you don’t think it counts due to Toby Fox’s vagueness on when the game will come out, I also did find Sonia from Pokemon Sword and Shield (because this fandom works crazy fast...there was also a Milo and two Wooloo running around but I didn’t get pics).

Jesus! No, really!  I’ve seen people cosplaying Jesus at many a convention! FOUND...I found him!

ACQUIRED POINTS...21

[gaminginsteadofsleep]

Tales of Vesperia

Release Date: January 2019 Developer: Namco Tales Studios Platform: Playstation 4

I first played Tales of Vesperia for the Xbox 360 about 5 years ago. It quickly became a personal favorite and is my favorite of title from the Tales franchise. I was ecstatic when they announced the Definitive edition was coming to the US because it finally meant I could play the full version that the US had previously never gotten. More content for one of my favorite JRPGs! Tales of Vesperia: The Definitive Edition was just as wonderful as I remembered and the added content, such as the additional character Patty Fleur, was all seamlessly added into the story. The only disappointment is that the new localization didn’t get the entire voice cast back together and I can’t say I’m thrilled with how they handled it.

Pros:

Vesperia’s story is engaging, familiar but unique, fun to explore, and filled with plenty to do from the main story line to the absurd amount of sub-events to discover (ranging from additional conversations and scenes that add to the story or flesh out the cast to bonus battles and quest lines)

I love the cast of characters. Having 8 characters and a very cool dog as the main cast, they’re all fleshed out and interesting, each with unique styles of combat and fascinating backstories, They each have different relationships with one another and a very “found-family” vibe that I really can’t help but love.

Patty Fleur, a young pirate girl who never debuted in the original game only the PS3 port that never reached America, finally made her way to US audiences. I adored her. She fits naturally into the game and her backstory and development throughout the game was a delight. While it was a long wait, it was worth it to finally know this bubbly pirate.

The Definitive Edition adds an extra post-game dungeon meaning this game can last far past 50 hours. My playthrough was 53 hours and I didn’t touch either of the two post-game dungeons, instead opting to save them for my New Game+ run through in the future.

Cons:

My biggest and possibly only gripe is the change of voice actors. Yuri Lowell, the main character, was originally voiced by Troy Baker, and while Troy Baker expressed interest in coming back to voice the new material, Namco’s US branch opted to have Grant George take over. I have no problem with George’s voice acting, but having the game switch between Baker and George was jarring for me for a while because I could clearly tell who was who. Why not have Baker come back? Or have George record all of the old lines so the voice is seamlessly one person? Were there legitimate cost concerns or was Namco just cheap? This also occurs with Judith having two different voice actresses and considering Judith has significantly less lines than Yuri, I really don’t know why they didn’t ask Kate Higgins to record the old material too. This just seems like a lazy choice and I wish they had done better.

There’s also a different between sound quality in new and old skits. Skits are just optional voiced conversations or dialogue that expand on characters, the story, the world, and more in-game. The newer skits were much quieter and if the background music was loud in the area you’re in, it can be a struggle to even hear the voice actors. Luckily there are subtitles but it was frustrating notice such an obvious difference.

Final Thoughts:

Despite my disappointment in how the new voice acting was handled, Vesperia is still my favorite Tales game and the Definitive Edition only adds more quality content to an already excellent game. Maybe my personal love for Vesperia clouds my judgement, but this game is a solid 10 out of 10 for me!

SCORE: 10/10

[kitkatt0430]

2, 7, and 16?

2.) Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?

Aside from my usual Cisco/Caitlin (the Flash) and Colette/Lloyd (Tales of Symphonia) mentions... Estelle/Yuri from Tales of Vesperia. I could see them as QPPs, but their relationship just reads so perfect as friends that I just don't vibe with romantic interpretations of their ship. Also don't really get Yuri/Judith either. They flirt a bit at first, but it's very joking and - again - I see them clicking so hard as friends that I just don't see the shipping chemistry.

7.) Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

The Steve/Tony ship from the MCU fandom. Civil War kinda ruined that for me, though the seeds were probably planted in Ultron with Steve's hypocritical behavior about secret keeping. (Civil War also really soured my opinion on MCU Steve in general. And made it very clear that the MCU had been put in the hands of producers who neither liked nor understood any of the characters at all, which was unfortunate.)

It takes a lot to sour a ship this badly for me, though the poor treatment of all the characters in the lead up to the Thanos arc made me check out of the MCU entirely for a while. (I think what they did with Wanda was the worst by making her start off as Hydra, considering her history in the comics. I know she's a bit of a polarizing character in the comics too, but making her Hydra - a Marvel Comics Nazi - was a bridge too far.)

16.) If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

Eric Wallace being a show runner on the Flash. Everything bad about seasons 6 through 9 can be laid at his doorstep, especially given his penchant for promising things that weren't delivered on.

Cisco having an important arc in S7 before leaving was... him deciding to leave in the background and having a last minute farewell episode that, while funny, felt ultimately kind of insulting to the character's importance. Iris' big S6 arc was... her being isolated from everyone else most of the story arc while a fake version took her place. And she was overshadowed by the Speed Force dying arc too, which was kinda infuriating.

Frost was promised an important arc and they gave her a criminal love interest. Giving Frost a boyfriend was not an important story arc and was clearly just another round of the amatonormative idea that romance is the only thing that humanizes a character. And, insult to injury, her new love interest wasn't even an interesting character. The comics version of Chillblaine was a Captain Cold knock off, at least one version of which was one of Lisa Snart's love interests which is an interesting choice for a character meant to be a lite version of Lisa's brother. And, worse, Frost's sacrifice to save Caitlin winds up furthering his story arc when Caitlin is inconveniently disappeared for most of S9.

Chester and Allegra were also promised interesting story arcs, but if they got any it was impossible to notice over the very loud pair the spares crap going on with them. More amatonormativity. -_-

Khione was promised to be an important character in S9, but there was nothing going on with her that couldn't have been done better and more meaningfully with Caitlin getting her own Frost powers and learning to accept her sister's death.

And all of this - and more! - can be blamed on Eric Wallace.

Admittedly, the show has always had a problem with amatonormativity and poor management of plot lines where Barry wasn't the lead. But it was massively exacerbated under Eric Wallace's direction and, at times, made the show nigh unwatchable because of the poor management of the plot. (Looking right at you, Armageddon, and your three different and contradictory evil plans that Eobard was somehow enacting simultaneously.)

Apparently I am particularly salty about this topic.

[cammieanime]

Loving Tales of Vesperia so far. Great game, having a great time with both the story and gameplay.

But I cannot fucking stand a plot that hinges on the main characters just not talking to each other. These fucking idiots talking in circles around what they want and what they know and where they're from has gotten uhhh..... multiple people killed so far, and some of them didn't even deserve it or anything.

Belius would be alive if Judith just fucking told everyone what was going on. She had little to no reason not to, so far. That's all I'm saying. And if that isn't the case and the game is scapegoating her for something else, then I don't like that either.

[fortunesrevolver]

Series: Tales of Vesperia Ship: Pre-JudithRaven going into a relationship Rating: General Request: @thekrityanwarrior​

After the events of the game, Raven tries tracking down Judith to ask her out, and she initially turns him down, but something happens that makes her see him differently and be with him

I’ve never written Raven or Judith before, so this was a bit of a challenge, but still fun. This isn’t a ship I’ve delved into often either, so I’m going in totally fresh with the dynamic, but I hope I managed to nail the beginnings of it. I didn’t want to get overly romantic since this idea seemed to be based around them getting together rather than being together, but. 

It ended up being eight pages, so. Fingers crossed.

Zaphias, in Judith’s opinion, was a much nicer city now that it no longer had such a thick and haughty air about it with the underlying fear of anyone who looked remotely noble or wore a suit of armor. The central quarter was far busier than she remembered it being, with shops of all sizes lining the streets. Even the dingier shops, slightly dirty and obviously set up by those of lesser means, seemed to hold a customer base with value placed purely on the goods being offered. Nobles, commoners, and knights alike all seemed to blend together in the crowd; it was a heartwarming sight compared to the starkly separated classing system she’d seen before.

With a low hum, she started down one of the side streets, her gaze veiled with a silent curiosity. It was unfortunate Yuri couldn’t be here to enjoy all of this as well -- he’d certainly be proud of the changes in his home. So far as she knew, he was on something of a solo mission to help the knights --  or so he’d called it. It likely meant he was off giving the commandant a headache, which left her with a few days to kill until he returned and Karol deemed their ‘vacation’ sufficient.

Something to her left sparkled and caught her attention, making Judith pause as she turned and approached a stand which appeared to be selling jewelry.

“My, these are quite nice,” she offered the clerk a quick smile before returning her focus down to a pair of ear cuffs in the shape of glittering wyverns.

“All handmade, miss,” the salesman replied, a hint of pride in his voice. “We do custom work too, if’n you’re likin’ what you see. Not sure I’ve got any cuffs that’d work for those nice ears o’yers, but a few measurements and I could make just about anything ya like.”

“Oh?” Judith hummed and nodded once. “I guess I’ll have to think about it.” She turned and raised her hand in farewell. “Thanks for the--oof.”

“Whoops, sorry about that, wasn’t--well now, ain’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

“Hm?” Judith turned, her eyes lighting up in realization as she recognized the person before her. “Oh, it’s you.”

“Hey now,” Raven’s lips pursed, a hand falling over his chest. “Just it’s you? Yer breakin’ this old man’s heart. Where’s my greetin’? What about a hug for an old friend?”

“Hello, Raven,” a gloved hand grasped his shoulder briefly before Judith brushed past. “How have you been?”

“Ah, a cold touch from the fair maiden,” Raven lamented, the back of his hand lingering dramatically over his forehead as he fell in step with Judith. “But... well enough. Ticker is still tickin’, can’t ask for much more than that.”

Violet eyes shifted, darting over to Raven where they lingered over his chest briefly. While the world seemed to have adjusted to it’s lack of Blastia well enough, she’d yet to take the time to consider just how much it might change the lives of those who relied on them for more than power. Raven certainly seemed healthy enough -- the same, boisterous spring was carried in his steps -- but what else had changed? How much had changed?

“And what about you, darlin’?” Judith blinked, her thoughts brought back to the present as Raven stopped near the fountain. “What are you doing all the way out here? The boys not with you?”

“Yuri is ‘helping the knights,’ as he put it. I think he just wanted to check up on his friend.”

Raven nodded, a knowing look on his face. “The new commandant does have a habit of pushin’ himself. Someone has to tie him down once in awhile and make sure he takes care of himself.”

“I could say the same about Yuri,” Judith clicked her tongue. Even without a world to save, Yuri was the most laidback busibody she’d ever met. It was both fascinating and concerning. “They’re more alike than they think.”

“And what about our little captain?”

“Karol?” Judith chuckled, a slow, mischievous smile spreading across her face. “I dropped him off in Dahngrest on the way here. He’d said Yuri’s mission would be the perfect time for a break. I just thought he might have more fun there.”

“Devious as you are lovely,” Raven winked. “A bolt to any man’s heart.”

“Oh, so long as I don’t stop them,” Judith hummed, “I’d hate to be the cause of so many collapsing.”

“Aw,” Raven swivelled on his heel and motioned to the bench, smiling in satisfaction when Judith sat down before he plopped beside her on the fountain’s edge. “What a caring soul.”

“It would make walking down the streets terribly difficult. And it’d cause someone else more work.”

“Oof. Judith, darlin, sometimes I don’t know if I should laugh or run around you.”

“I like a good hunt,” Judith winked. “I think they sell rappig ears at one of the stands.”

Raven blanched, expression twisting as he tried to imagine being on the business end of Judith’s spear all on his lonesome. Sometimes it really was difficult to tell what was a joke and what was a warning.

“No need to go huntin’ for an old man like me, wouldn’t be much fun.” Raven shrugged, “Besides, I wouldn’t be able to put my heart in it.”

“Oh? You better not be talking like that again. I’d hate to have to gather up the others to teach you another lesson.”

“Course not,��� Raven shrugged, “I’m perfectly happy runnin’ around this world. I just meant I couldn’t turn my back on a lady like you.”

“Is that so?” Judith leaned back on the bench. “I suppose that’s flattering.”

“I’d hope so,” Raven leaned forward, chin resting on his palm with his elbow on his knee. “Besides, you capturing me? Wouldn’t be able to complain.”

“And what would you do once I did?”

“Well,” Raven grinned, his eyes brightening in delight. “How about we start with a nice dinner tomorrow night? Say six?”

Judith froze, her eyes darting over to Raven as shock lingered briefly on her face before it morphed into a knowing smirk. “You must ask all the girls that.”

“Hey now,” Raven pouted, “just because I know how to treat a lady right doesn’t mean I hand my heart out to just anyone.”

“Mmhm,” Judith shook her head. “That’s a little hard to believe. Your charm seem endless.”

“Much as I’d like to take the compliment,” Raven shook his head and sighed, “this ol’ man isn’t in that business anymore. Not young enough for it.”

“Aren’t you?” Judith stood and crossed her arms over her chest. Something in the bit of her stomach had started to churn and she didn’t like the feeling at all. How many times had Raven caused it now? When would it just… stop? She’d seen him playing a game she couldn’t take part in too often. There wasn’t a point in rolling rigged dice, especially when she was the one who would end up losing. “I think you could still catch a few fish.”

“Maybe,” Raven looked up, his expression uncomfortably serious, “but I ain’t after what’s in the sea.”

“That’s too bad.” Judith took a step back and turned away. “I hear there’s mermaids out there. I’m sure they’d be to your liking.”

“Judith…”

“It was nice to see you again, Raven,” Judith cut in and glanced over her shoulder. “But I think I might go take that shop owner up on his offer. His craftsmanship was lovely.”

Raven stood, opening his mouth to respond, but Judith had already waved a quick farewell and started away. Her pace was quick, heels clicking loudly against the pavement untils he was finally out of sight and able to duck into a nearby alleyway. A frown marred her features, overtaking the practiced smile she kept in place, as her ears were drawn toward the sky.

“...I know,” she murmured, fists clenched at her side. “I know. But I just can’t. He may not be serious, and I don’t want to be another story at the tavern.”

Silence, a low rumble, and finally a sigh. “...I know.” Judith’s gaze fell, eyebrows drawn together. “I’m alright, don’t worry.”

The golden rays of sunlight that had once illuminated the city had faded to a rustic orange, the gentle glow dimming as the minutes passed and the sun slowly began its descent below the horizon. Shops and stalls were beginning to pack up and close, with keepers making their way back home. The happy, cheerful voices of the day had faded, and were slowly being replaced by by the lower, mature sounds of Zaphias’ nightlife.

Not interested in the pull of music and voices that drifted through the open windows of taverns and evening clubs, Judith followed the small crowd that made their way toward the lower quarter. Yuri had, most kindly, offered up his room for privacy and a bit of saved gald, claiming he wouldn’t need it. The empty sheets were open for Judith’s use, and the noise in the lower quarter was much softer than the upper levels. People didn’t seem to fully wake until the later afternoon there, and anyone who did was quickly on their way or working inside.

As she approached the ramp that would lead her down to the lower quarter’s plaza, peals of loud laughter filled her ears. When the ground levelled, she paused, surprised as a group of children rushed past her from the left and flew toward the other side of the plaza.

“Get him!” one shouted, raising what appeared to be a toy sword. “Surround the dragon!”

“Archers!” a second child shouted and pointed ahead of them. “Aim for the wings! Don’t let him fly away!”

Several smaller children rushed into what Judith assumed was supposed to be a fighting formation and raised tiny bows in their arms with arrows made from sticks with feathers tied to the end and little rubber nubs on the end. Each little face was set in determination as they tried to aim their weapons without dropping the arrows.

“My, my… It sure sounds dangerous down here,” Judith commented to herself, amused. “A dragon? I hope they can save us.”

“Oh yes,” an old man with white hair Judith remembered vaguely from a previous meeting approached with a rumbling laugh. “They keep us all nice and safe.”

“How brave of them.”

The man nodded and laughed again. “Oh yes, the terrible Dragon Raven hasn’t taken over these parts for some time. The children see to that.”

“The dragon… Raven?”

“Mmhm, just over there.” The man nodded toward the opposite end of the fountain and Judith looked up just in time to see the dragon -- clad in a rather ridiculous looking sheet with scales drawn all over it and crudely made wings of paper leap up onto the edge.

“Raaaawr!” he cried out and flapped his makeshift wings. “I won’t be defeated this time, warriors! I’ll be takin’ all yer shiny treasures to my cave!”

“Never!” one of the children cried out just as another yelled, “Fire!”

Immediately, tons of tiny arrows flew forward, piercing the weak paper wings and plopping into the water below.

“Nooo…!” The dragon cried out, stumbling. “My wings…! My flight! Curse all of you…! Now I’ll have to breath my fire!”

“Oh no…!” A young girl, carrying a foam sword pointed it toward her enemy. “Quickly! Before he cooks us for dinner! Charge!”

Judith’s hand flew to her mouth as every child dropped their weapon and ran forward, arms flailing as they poked and grabbed at the dragon’s legs. Howls of laughter filled the air as the Raven Dragon tried to fight off the army that surrounded him to no avail.

With a final, strangled cry, the battle was over and the Dragon fell backwards into the fountain, sending waves of water outward that hit warrior and onlooker alike. Cheers and applause soon followed as the children made a victory lap around the plaza, their arms raised in victory as they cried out in joy.

“We saved everyone!”

“The dragon has been defeated once more!”

Judith couldn’t help but laugh, the sound muffled as she hid a smile behind her fingers. “What a show they put on.”

“Twice a month, in fact,” the old man replied, nodding.

“Twice a…” Judith trailed off, turning to better face the man. “He comes that often?”

“Raven is quite helpful around here. He’s here often to play with the children and help us old folk with repairs. Mighty handy with his hands, that one. Doesn’t even let us pay him. Says he’s just grateful we took care of Yuri all these years and wants to pay us back.” He barked with laughter. “Quite a debt he wants to pay back, even with everyone on deck, Yuri and Flynn were always a handful.”

“I see…” Judith looked to the fountain in silence, watching as Raven emerged from the sheet and tried to shrug off his waterlogged wings. “That’s very kind of him.”

“Mmhm,” the man nodded again. “Between him and Yuri, we don’t have much to worry about ‘round here anymore.” He looked up and smiled gently. “You’re one of Yuri’s friends too, aren't cha? Tell him to come say hello sometime. We’d like to see how he’s holding up.”

“Oh… right. Of course. I’ll drag him kicking and flailing if I must.”

“Sometimes I think that’s what it’ll take.” The man chuckled. “You’ll have to excuse me. Must make sure all the kids make it home. Have a good evenin’ miss.”

Judith didn’t respond and waited until the old man disappeared from sight until she approached the fountain and bent over, offering her hand to the soaking wet figure sitting inside.

“I didn’t think dragons frequented these parts,” she hummed.

Raven’s head snapped up, shock clear on his face as he looked from Judith to her hand several times. His shock slowly shifted into a smile as he laughed and accepted the offer, only to be pulled swiftly to his feet. How had he forgotten how strong she was?

“Yeah, well, sometimes it’s us little critters you have to be worried about. Not something big in the sky.”

“It’s a good thing Zaphias is so well protected, then.”

“Sure is,” Raven snorted, “don’t think the dragon has ever won. Probably for the best. I’d hate to disappoint when they find out I can’t really breathe fire.”

“I’m sure they’d still love you all the same. After all, if they can like someone like Yuri, it must take a lot for them to hate something.”

A laughed followed as Raven hoisted himself out of the water and settled on the ledge to wring out his clothes. “Don’t go lettin’ him hear ya say that now. He’ll start poutin’.”

“I’m sure he can take it,” Judith’s hand fell to her hip and brushed a hair out of her face. “He’s a tough boy.”

“He’s certainly made of somethin’ stubborn,” Raven mused, abandoning his soaked clothes in an effort to try and wring out his hair. “Thanks for the help, darlin’.”

“It’s the least I can do for the children’s favourite dragon.”

“Nah,” Raven laughed. “They’d forget me the moment Yuri showed up. Or that Entelexeia friend of yours.”

“Ba’ul is a gentle giant, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind playing with them someday.”

“And it’d make their day, I’m certain.” Raven smiled. “Awfully kind of you to offer.”

“Oh no, I’m just joining in the fun.” Judith inclined her head, watching Raven carefully. It’s very kind of you to play with them.”

Raven flushed, sheepish as he scratched his cheek. “Ain’t all that much, really,” he shrugged. “Jus’ nice to see ‘em smilin’ again after all that’s happened.”

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t kind.” Judith turned, her eyes following the lingering children as they hurried toward waiting parents. “How often do you do this?”

“Ah…” Raven shrugged. “Not that often, just when I can.”

It was a humbler answer than she’d expected, but perhaps she hadn’t been giving him enough credit. Despite the way he often acted, she’d never seen him be cruel. How had she forgotten that?

“That’s not what the old gentleman told me.”

“Who, Hank?” Raven looked away and shrugged again. “Nah, he’s jus’ makin’ this old man look better than he is. That’s all.”

“Is he? I think I can make my own judgements from what I saw.” She smiled and stepped away, headed toward the street that would lead to the inn. “I think you deserve something nice.”

“The kids are happy, ain’t that enough?”

“Maybe,” she nodded and stopped glancing over her shoulder. “But I can think of something nicer.”

“Oh?” Raven stood up and gave himself a firm shake, still dripping. “What’s that?”

“Hm…” she tapped her chin, feigning deep thought as she spun around to face Raven again. “What indeed.”

“That look of yours is makin’ me nervous.”

“Aw, don’t ne nervous,” Judith laughed, light and airy as she turned away once more and stopped a few steps away. “Ah, I know.”

“...yea?”

“What about dinner?” she glanced over her shoulder with a coy smile. “Tomorrow? Maybe around… six?”

Raven could only stare, his mouth hanging open slightly. His eyes widened slowly, the shock washing over him like a wave before he beamed. “Yer not pullin’ my leg, are ya darlin’? I don’t know that my heart could take it.”

“I’m not that cruel,” Judith turned away. “I think this fountain would make a good meeting spot.”

“Y-yea!” Raven nodded. “Sounds like a pain.”

“Good. But you should go and dry off soon. I’ll be disappointed if you miss it for a cold.” She didn’t wait for an answer and was soon out of sight, but not out of earshot.

Just as she hit the first step leading up to the inn’s second floor, she couldn’t help but smile as a loud whoop! sounded from the plaza.

Maybe she would be a tavern story after all, but as long as she was every story, she wouldn’t mind.

Why is everyone in Zaphias? Hell if I know. It seemed the most likely city for everyone to stumble upon each other while also having an excuse to send Yuri off. Because he’s bad at saying no to Flynn and we all know it. Not that Flynn is much better, but I digress.

I’ve always felt that one of the best ways to see someone’s true nature is how they act around children and/or animals. It’s super easy to see when someone is over-the-top faking with them, and to see someone act genuinely kind with the smol ones is always heartwarming. Not to mention Raven just treating a lady right is too easy -- flirting aside, he does always do that. He’s a good ol’ man deep down.

(That, and Judith probably couldn’t date a guy who didn’t treat animals right. Automatic blacklisting.)

[kougaleon]

Above: The novel script sample from the scenario book 

Translation Here

I know this book is quite old, but since nobody here ever translate or even know about the existence of this postgame novel, I felt compelled to share this here. I feel this is a quite significant yuriesu hint we ever get at that time, even though yuri dismissed that as a joke later on hahaha.

To be honest, this ship has gone through too many denials from bamco/officials in japan it's painful I can taste the salt for years ahahahaha (good thing most people outside of japan dont know anything bout this huh), so when that wedding gacha illustration came out on Tales Festival I was completely surprised and happy at the same time!

Okay,so now I'm going to talk about what i gathered from some official stuff and japanese discussion :

Back on 2008, bamco has stated on the official guide book that 'yuri only views estelle as a sister' (if you believe this is BS please check the pixiv dictionary of yuriesu/ユリエス) which... lots of people has taken that remark as an official denial of the ship itself. I know some people that dislike this pairing use this statement as a mean to harrass the yuri/estelle shippers, but it should be noted that bamco doesn't completely negate the possibility of the pairing itself, because a staff has stated that "It's possible for the two to get together several years later" on the Q&A section of the book.

But aside from that statement, there hasn't been any notable push to the ship prior this year, so the wedding gacha + tales festival 2017 that features them getting married is almost a miracle and a shock to most japanese audience.(in both good and negative way to some fans lol)

It's so bizarre that the 'ユリエス' (yuriesu) tag even went into the top 20 twitter trending list at that time lmao! (I wonder if they are really making a vesperia sequel next year hmm..)

Regardless, I have to applaud bamco's braveness to pull that out on talesfest 2017 haha!

I feel like the writers of this game doesn't want to make them canon to avoid the cliche hero/heroine romantic plot on the game (which most tales of game have suffered unfortunately, safe for this game, Zestiria and Berseria?). Also, even there's no denial that yuri/flynn justice dynamic is what sets the theme for this game, both Estelle and Flynn is equally important to Yuri and it sometimes make me sad that Estelle as a heroine isn't treated very good by bamco back then (I'm talking about interviews and merchs).

Yuri/Estelle platonic relationship in the game is portrayed as a protector/the one being protected. And the scene before the final battle between them? Estelle is said to almost convey her feelings to yuri, but he just pretends to not know about it because he only views her as a sister.(also taken from the guide book)

However i like to headcanon he gradually develop feelings for estelle AFTER the game, though yuri kept denying those feelings because of the  princess/commoner situation, how he is a murderer to add to the mess, and how he insist to himself that those feelings he had were merely the affection for a good friend/sister out of not being honest/accustomed to the new feelings he has. He also would sometimes accompany her and one day stare at her far too long than he should have, and doing other stuff that's uncharacteristic of him (other people that's not close to him wouldn't notice it, but Flynn knows because he's been Yuri's best friend since childhood)

Yuri is not honest about his feelings so he likes to keep the same platonic bond between them after the game, and if Estelle somehow confess to him, he would avoid that by either saying those feelings she has might be for a friend or....just plainly turns her down.

So it's up to the other vesperia crew like Raven and Judith plus Flynn to help them reconcile and finally get together in the end hahahaha