#poor little zelo

[baronaliswritingcorner]

Tales of Symphonia Stray Thoughts #10: Sybak/Fooji Mountains Revisit

-I know Zelos’s womanizing hasn't exactly aged well, but the Gigolo quirk is one of those little Tales of Symphonia details that speaks to just how dense this game is. Even if said title drives us insane when we miss one or two women. (Heaven forbid in Ozette or Palmacosta!)

(Now I'm reminded of that one age-old comic where a woman gives him a cucumber, lol. Anyone know what I'm talking about?)

-Zelos: Listen and be amazed, bumpkins. This is the greatest drawbridge in the world.

It’s the only one, ya dolt!

-“It connects the continents of Altamira and Fooji.”

…you know, I never stopped to pay attention to this line before. There’s nothing else in the game mentioning the continent names, right? Funny how Altamira’s just a resort city yet there’s a big ol’ landmass named after it. There’s a story there.

Also, if Meltokio’s located in Fooji, then…wait. That whole detail with Mizuho being chased out…and the Japanese-sounding name…mmm…

-“That’s a pretty sobering story. Is that really true?”

What’s important to remember here is that Zelos’s affiliation with Cruxis means he’s already in the know about everything, so he's just feigning ignorance here. One of the many cutscenes I'd have preferred voiced to add another layer to this deception.

-The Zelos nickname skit is an all-time classic, lol. A shame he never follows through with "Hey, you" for Lloyd. Alas.

-Y’all ever slow walk with Presea? Y'know, when she gets all rapid-fire with those heels? It's like she’s like a robotic aide or something. “Here is your coffee, sir.”

“This is the variety goods shop, Student Supplies. We sell fucking swords and axes and shit.”

goddamn, that's some school. sign me up

-Junk Collector: “Well, have a look around. There’s a lot of good stuff to be found.”

What is this, Dr. Suess? Get outta here.

-“This academy was turned into a royal facility two kings ago.”

I wonder how long ago that was. It’d be cool if they ever made an in-depth timeline of the Symphonia world.

(no dotnw junk pls kthx)

-That one kid talking about solving pollution. Pollution is TOS canon. The two worlds already have enough going on with the whole "REGENERATE OR DIE" business. Don't pollutel, or Lloyd will get all Woodsy Owl on your ass.

-Lloyd: “I didn’t think I’d be giving you your birthday present like this.”

Oh, the tragedy when it doesn’t work! although the school lobby's kinda a weird place in retrospect lol there's a giant fucking dinosaur fossil behind them.

You know how Colette's neck is all crooked here? Reminds me of this other DeviantArt comic from the long, long ago where she was in the same pose, lol. I'd look it up if I wasn't so lazy.

-“How about asking Dirk for help?”

Uh, that was an uncharacteristic lapse of memory for Raine there. Her line should've been switched with Genis.

-lol I like how they couldn’t be bothered to model actual shackles/syringes

-Lloyd: "What did you say?! The Professor and Genis are much better people than you! Who cares if they’re half-elves?!"

Zelos: "I don’t know what it’s like in your world, but over here, half-elves are at the bottom of the caste system."

Papal Knight: "Half-elves guilty of crimes are all executed without exception."

Lloyd: "That’s insane!"

The initial trip to Tethe'alla bombards poor Lloyd with injustice after injustice, all smartly paving the way to Lloyd's big speech in Mizuho. We see birth of Lloyd becoming Martin fucking Luther King Jr. right here. (Minus the creepy adultery)

-that freaking professor snitch. look at him. and way later he doesn't acknowledge his complicity at all. asshole

-“Criminals…if you’ve had the good fortune of being born human, don’t throw it away like that.”

Yeesh!

-Lloyd: That’s the same way the Desians made Exspheres!

Kate: What? What are you talking about?

Lloyd: I’m saying, how can you treat people that way?!

Kate: …I could ask you the exact same thing. How can you humans treat half-elves the way you do?

Yes, yes. This scene. So great. Lloyd realizing how the Desians' legacy carries over to the other world, him correcting course when he recognizes Kate doesn't know the first about Desians and attacks with a more general accusation, Kate justifiably leaning into her own injustices in accusing Lloyd of bigotry, her disbelief that he'd save a half-elf -- let alone have one as a best friend...

We learn more about Kate as the game progresses -- in retrospect, she's one of the better-realized NPCs (without even a voiced line to her name! -- but we're immediately rendered sympathetic to her outburst here and know not to judge. She and her other two fellow prisoners don't even have any beds down in that cold dungeon -- and all thanks to those cruel humans. Who could blame her for thinking Lloyd's full of shit?

Two proponents of social justice, pitted against each other by millennia-old systemic injustices -- all correctly framed within the tragedy that is Presea's Theme.

Mm! This part of the game’s just so GOOD.

-Having indulged in so much Sheelos over the years, it’s funny how Sheena just…doesn’t react to Zelos being with the party at all. You’d think there’d be SOME acknowledgement – even the expanded media in anime/manga touches upon their history together!

-The Colette prayer skit seems....poorly timed? lol. Save it for after the bridge.

-“Curiosity towards the unknown” was a favorite of mine as a youngin’, but uh, now? That’s just sexual harassment, dawg. Not the last time we'll see this, unfortunately.

-slowwalking as presea on da bridge…majestic

-why do the papal knights sound like Wallace Shawn lmao

-THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF LLOYD’S THEME YEEESSS

Have I mentioned how much I love this theme? You can just feel the serotonin flood throughout your body the moment it graces your eardrums. Doesn't it just exude positive energy? Convey how he's just the goodest boy? Great, because this song always plays whenever he's rousing the party together by giving this great big speech -- or, as seen below, affirming their value just by being himself.

"But…we’re half-elves."

"So what’s your point?”

Man. Man.

Just listen to the line from Raine when she says "you came to rescue us" -- that alone says so much. Having borne the full-brunt of half-elf discrimination, she clearly resigned herself to her fate here, thinking Lloyd and co. would abandon them, and he just...candidly leaps over the wall carefully layered from years of discrimination, roaming from place to place looking for somewhere to call home, all the while hiding her deepest darkest secret in her identity-- all just by saying "who cares what you are? You're my friend."

It's 10:30 over here and I lack the eloquence/time to dive into a full analysis, but I consider Lloyd a personal hero of mine and could just gush about him all day. Just blast that theme on your iTunes or whatever and I'll get started.

-"Zelos: Knowing that, but still being unable to shake the feelings, is what discrimination is all about, though."

Oof. Zelos's route gets into his justifications here, but his backstory isn't entirely necessary to understanding the reasoning in this skit. I wonder how many players took some introspection here.

-Sheena: "So monsters really started to appear… But the regeneration ritual wasn’t complete, so what’s going on?"

Raine: "…If it’s not caused by a decline in mana, then it may be the work of Cruxis."

Hold up! Hold up. How does that work? Can Cruxis make monsters? How? Wouldn't they part of the ecosystem too? I—oh, I’m thinking too much about this again.

-Zelos’s "secret weapon" is evidence he’s working with the Renegades, too. Hence the trap. Shoulda seen it coming after "just in case something like this happened". Kinda specific there, aren't ya??

-THE SCENE WHERE COLETTE COMES BACK IS...hmm, I dunno. I mean, it works, but I think the anime did it best. Obviously they couldn't put it off for that long (Rodyle's flying base? Yeah, no), but "Unsatisfied desire" doesn't exactly spur feelings of an emotional reunion, so it kinda loses its punch.

Now, them tying it to the birthday present? One that absolutely shouldn't have worked and defied all logic? Fantastic "right in the kokoro" writing right there. Do they ever explain why it worked? No, but who cares -- IT’S THE POWER OF COLLOYD AND YOUNG LOVE BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

-“No, it’s the toxicosis.”

…do they already know Colette's sick? Hmm.

-Kratos subtly encouraging Lloyd every time he pops up…the feels…

man I am so on the TOS train right now -- if only the fandom wasn't so teeny-tiny right now!

[mannatea]

For the ask game: Tales of Symphonia ofc!

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): RAINE IS BIGGEST BLORBO. (Regal becomes second biggest blorbo.) scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): Corrine. scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): This might be Presea actually. She doesn't get much love. glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): Kate. poor little meow meow (“problematic”/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): YUAN 🤣 horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): A better question is who WOULDN'T i torment from this game? but i'll say Zelos for this because it's funny eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): Wonder Chef. A serious answer is Botta.

[0eka0]

Their faces say everything XD

[godsofhumanity]

Vans I need help. I have another obscure Greek god that I'm slowly developing a hyperfixation over but THERE'S NOT ENOUGH STUFF ABOUT HIM so may I please ask for your headcanon of Phthonos?

YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE ME GET BRAIN ROT!!!1!!1

okkk so Phthonos is a very very very "rare" god.. not much is known about him.

he may be a son of Aphrodite.. or he could be the same god as Zelos (or Zelus) who was a son of Pallas & Styx.. in which case, his siblings include Nike, Kratos, and Bia.

but personally... i don't think the latter parentage theory makes sense- Nike, Kratos, and Bia personify forces that seem to come hand-in-hand with war.. victory, power, and force. this makes sense given that Pallas was probably the titan of warcraft...

but Phthonos.. or Zelos.. is the god of envy and jealousy, especially related to romance and love.. so.. he doesn't exactly fit the pattern with Nike, Kratos, and Bia.

so i think that Phthonos and Zelos should be two different gods.. though they may be very similar.

as one of Aphrodite's sons, you can bet he's mischievous AND nosey,, and so he probably gets on everyone's nerves.

i can imagine that, being the god of jealousy, he loovessss to stir up trouble between people,, particularly lovers. i think he's always skulking around Olympus and keeping an ear out for potential trouble.

when i was reading up about him, i came across two particular stories that feature Phthonos; the first involving Apollo (because of course it does).

in this myth,, Phthonos tries to rile Apollo up by saying that quantity is better than quantity.. but, naturally, Apollo argues the opposite and spurns Phthonos' greed/jealousy.

because of this,, i can imagine that Phthonos has it out for Apollo especially.. and poor Apollo is a prime target for Phthonos' antics because he has such a long and tragic romantic record.. it's easy for Phthonos to mess around with Apollo and make him jealous or doubt himself.

saying this, i'm realising that Apollo seems to have a really, really bad time anytime he's with a son of Aphrodite.. first Eros, now Phthonos... it's tough :((

now, the second myth with Phthonos is very interesting indeed; in this version of Dionysus' birth, Phthonos is jealous of Dionysus (yes, even though he's just a little baby still unborn!!), and so he intentionally makes a loud noise to rile up Athena, and convince Hera that Semele may be the next Queen of Olympus.

Hera is, as we all know, a decently jealous goddess... and that's understandable-- she's always finding herself having to compete with fellow goddesses and even mere mortals..

but!! even though in this myth, Phthonos is kind of alerting Hera for his own sake,, i really really like the idea that Hera is probably one of the few gods out there whom Phthonos actually respects.

i mean.. no one could understand her deep envy more than the embodiment of envy himself.

even though he likes to mess around with most gods, i think Phthonos actually acts pretty genuine with Hera.. not just because she's the Queen and she could kick his ass if she wanted to,, but i like the idea that they have some sort of common ground.

i'm not sure if i'd call them "friends".. but i think they would share gossip with each other, and enjoy creating conniving, wicked plans together... she'd be one of the few who actually tolerate Phthonos.

besides Hera, i can see Phthonos also participating in the Erotes' antics. he may not be a regular member of the retinue, but he is still their brother, and i think envy + jealousy in romantic relationships is commonplace-enough to earn Phthonos a claim to the Erotes' little clique.

of course, since i think Phthonos would be quite the gossiper and antagoniser, it's only natural that he should be friends with Hermes... Apollo and Dionysus despise this relationship greatly, but alas, Hermes does as Hermes wants.

[yostresswritinggirl]

Hello!! Congrats on 600 followers!! For the fifty requests, may I suggest something like the reader and Albedo babysitting Klee for a day and shenanigans ensue? Hope you're having a nice day and an even better week!

Klee and Albedo are my happy pills. And since I'm having trouble causing pain, this entered my mind and hhhh- thank you so much, anon! Funnily enough, I thought of something better and kinda flipped the request so have this!

Back to Earth

Hanging out with Klee and Albedo, fun times ensue! (masterlist)

Dragonspine is a place rarely visited by the likes of you for various, obvious reasons.

Yet despite its dangerous perils, Albedo is its most frequent visitor. Out of everyone in Mondstadt and probably the whole of Teyvat, his stay there is longer than anyone has been. Maybe that's one of the reasons why you don't like Dragonspine that much.

"(Y/N), Albedo is looking far again..." You hum in contemplation as you tilt your head.

The snow had always brought Albedo into a state of dissociation, and he'll have this distant look in his eyes that always worry you and Klee. Even if he's quick to dismiss or hide this part of him, and even if you and Klee are gullible at times, it was such rare moments where you two are just aware.

"He looks kinda sad..." You hum before patting Klee's head, who looks up from under her hat in front of you. And when you meet her eyes, she beams so warmly you couldn't help but smile back.

"Let's cheer him up, shall we?"

The Kreideprinz heaves out a heavy sigh after inhaling deeply, the lack of condensation makes him crease his eyebrows in growing frustration as the heavy feeling in his chest gnaws even deeper.

Breathe, Albedo reminds himself. But it wasn't enough to fight off the obvious guilt at the back of his head at another dead-end. This expedition should have yielded more results to help his research on the meaning of-

A pressure around his waist and chain of his coat forces him to snap his eyelids open, looking down to see the two sunshines in his life leaning over and under his arms to look up at him with such wide, bright smiles. His indifference turns into a soft smile before bringing you both into a hug.

"Hello there, you two. What are you doing here?"

"Everyone else from your team already descended from the mountain, you took a while."

"So we came up to fetch you!"

He offers a guilty chuckle paired with an apology for the delay and soon enough, you three were on your way back down the mountain. But with you babysitting Klee today, it's only normal that some detours are made here and there. Thankfully, that girl has a pyro vision.

You took Albedo's outstretched hand as he pulls you up to the rock formation that Klee suddenly wanted to climb. The cold seemed to pick up at this elevation and you were thankful for the coat Albedo owns that he leant you, it was a blessing that he never gets cold.

"Moment of birth!"

The solid ground beneath you rises as you three stood on the solar isotoma. Higher! Exclaimed Klee as Albedo picks her up and on to his shoulder, the view now equal as your party watches the misty fog of Dragonspine break away as if on will, to show the distant expanse of where Mondstadt lies miles away.

"Wow," a hand finds its way into yours as you leaned farther, engraving the display into your mind as much as you can in great detail. But your peace was interrupted when a red ball suddenly flies past you, plummeting down the scale of the rock formation for a good five seconds.

Before a distant explosion catches your ears.

The pregnant, frozen pause ends as you and Albedo turn to Klee who was still in Albedo's arms. But the spark knight doesn't meet your eyes. No, no, she was looking far below where the explosion sizzles.

"I think I saw some of those floaty bad guys from before down below!"

Ah. Poor Abyss Mage.

Somehow Klee's idea of a goodbye is unorthodox to the norm of society depending on the setting. Perhaps you expected the cool climate to reduce her 1000% energy to at least 500%, but as you duck down from another flying dodoco, you feel like the climate here was more of a disadvantage for you.

"Why is Klee mining so aggressively?!" You turned your head to the enabler, who had just covered his ears after another explosion.

"When it is done for the sake of others, Klee's enthusiasm skyrockets from the normal level," Albedo dodges a huge crystal chunk that almost nicked his shoulder. "Klee is also an avid miner of rocks."

"Klee- KLEE, THERE'S A HOLE IN THE MOUNTAIN, YOU CAN STOP NOW!"

"Big brother wants the crystal rocks, he's getting the crystal rocks!"

By some great divine blessing, all three of you somehow made it out alive with actual workable chunks to spare. The problem was that the explosions attracted lawachurls, boars, mages and even treasure hoarders to the chaos. Even if it was such an uneven fight, your combined efforts seem to have earned you victory.

Your arms wrapped tightly around the curled up bomber, backpack discarded on the grass as she readies herself for a scheduled rest after the exhausting mischief she had caused, "Sweetie, you're banned from Dragonspine..."

"But, (Y/N)... the crystals..." Albedo looks over his clipboard sketch after picking up the drowsy conversation.

"Let them live in peace..." You watched the little knight yawn as it makes you copy the same action subconsciously, eyes drooping as you leaned on each other. By the time Albedo had finished the outline of his sketch, you two had already fallen into an impromptu siesta.

The Chief Alchemist exerts a sigh of relief before going back to sketching your slumber. Even after the reminder of his weeks long effort for an empty research, you and Klee bombarding (literally) his melancholy somehow made his disarrayed thoughts clearer and assembled.

In a world of loose ends and tragedies, this lone Alchemist found himself two rays of the brightest sunlight.

Putting away the finished sketch, Albedo plants a kiss on yours and Klee's temples. He wears his purest smile audienced by none at the sight, and he muses with pure clarity in his voice,

"Maybe this is the meaning of life."

Ahah cute shit after that rage I just felt uwu

@albaedhoe @xiaophilia @heisenwurst @childe-simp-exe @moaa @dandelion-dreams @witchsungie @lehra @zelos-simp @legionqueensav @snackgod @rxsalinee @cala-ran @wind-wheel @lilydewi22 @yellowflowre @director-boo-tao @nonniechan @creation-magician @hanniejji @gojos-baby @just-some-stars @volleybloop @tartuu

[tales-of-sweets]

Symphonia Thoughts Pt. 6

Under the cut like usual!👇🏾

Finally found out why Regal won't enter that city... damn Regal. And Presea too, she's lost everyone now :( I guess I shoulda seen that coming. I'm a little confused though? She was just his servant? The way he acted about her leading up to this had me thinking it was someone super personal to him like his child or love interest. Am I missing something? Uhhh, I do not trust this Mithos kid like AT ALL. His one skit was Genis was kinda sketch. Where he was talking about how humans killed his parents and how he hated them for it and he was like "You understand, right?" Like okay, are we trying to turn him into a half-elf supremacist too? Let's not put thoughts in the poor guy's head. And then in the other skit where the Kendama switched courses to avoid hitting Raine and Colette thought maybe her power did it his response to that was weird. Idk, I don't really like him so far and his friendship with Genis makes me uneasy. Genis please, I will be so sad if you betray it, it will hurt worse than Kratos. Speaking of Kratos, idk what to believe or who to trust. He seems to be trying to help us but now we have also partnered with Yuan. It seems like (judging by their past little confrontations and the fact that Yuan straight up tried to murder him once) that they're on opposing sides... so I'm really wondering if either of them are trustworthy since at the end of the day they both have Cruxis connections. We are back in Sylvarant now, which is inferior in every other way EXCEPT for the fact that I can buy eggs again now which means I can force Colette to eat obscene amounts of fried rice with bell peppers until she hates Lloyd. I plan to spend a few days doing nothing but grinding to get her affection down. The way I clapped my hands and cheered out loud when I finally found a place that sold them after looking everywhere. I originally wanna gonna try for Sheena for Lloyd's soulmate but she barely likes him rn lol😔 Zelos and Colette are already at a high ranking but she's the current highest so I guess I'll try to knock her out of the top spot and aim for Zelos since he's already there. I like Colette but so much of the story already revolves around her, I would rather someone who isn't her have the top spot so they can have more scenes. The Katz village is too cute, I want to live there.

This guy lol I don't have much to say about him but do I really need to?

Raine... I wonder why she was left at the gate thing (forget the name) and what exactly that means... Why am I so on edge feeling like everyone is about to betray us? Colette is keeping secrets again, Raine found out something troubling about her past, Mithos is feeding Genis weird ideas, we're probably gonna have to fight Regal when we find out he's the murderer, Sheena was angry that we didn't let her sacrifice herself to Kuchinawa, and then there is Zelos... I got a skit where he jokes about how he should deceive Lloyd and Raine tells him that if he does that then he's forfeiting his life (which like yes, let's go girl, protect your stupid found family son). He says he was just joking... "I think". WHAT DOES HE MEAN BY THIS!? I already thought he was up to something when he wandered off in the renegade base but now he can't even say with confidence that he won't betray what I assume to be a close friend of his? Sir... 😑 Plus judging by what I already know about the choice later, being told he'll have to forfeit his life if he deceives Lloyd is kind of ominous. I have no clue why he dies if he picks Kratos (only that it's seemingly intentional?) but if it's anything related to betrayal... hoo boy, I'm ready (not for him dying, I won't allow it... this time). I had an off feeling about Kuchinawa for a while, he was too nice (this game has taught me to never trust anyone who is kind or helps you out lol). For that matter I don't trust the other dude either tbh... Poor Sheena though, she just can't win. I was glad that everyone (except for Lloyd kinda) didn't push Presea to accept Altessa's apology. Even if he's remorseful it doesn't undo the pain he caused her nor the fact that she lost over a decade of her life because of him. And I have a feeling the death of her sister is related in some way too. I don't think she needs to forgive him. I don't even think she needs to forgive Regal if she doesn't want to. I just hope that she can find comfort and healing someday. It was nice to see her smile, even if it was only that once so far. And lastly, I adore Tabatha with all my heart. She's positively adorable and I love how she just gave us a whole bunch of random stuff for no reason, that was cute.

[cheriafreya]

Tales of Symphonia for the fandom ask thing uwu

YES THANK YO U I LOVE TALKING ABOUT SYMPHONIA

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

Colette... me beloved... she will always be my number 1. I also love Zelos a LOT, but not at the same level as Colette.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

Surprise! that's also Colette, no one else makes me feel that cuteness aggression <3.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

YUAN he deserves a lot more attention, sure he's a little bit of an ass in the game but I like those kind of characters and he's also very reliable and badass in his own way.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

Mmmmmmmm can't think of any right now. I will literally never shut up about any of the characters, all of them drive me crazy (in a good way).

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

Mithos is my little meow meow, okay he did some things (a lot) wrong but his backstory is so sad and I feel so much empathy towards him, I can't help but love him.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

Kratos, I think it'd be funny to tease him a little bit for fun. The creators showed us this side of him in the anime and I loved it lol.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

Honestly I don't understand this superhell thing, it might be a reference to something? But I would send Rodyle if it really means hell.

[cocoacatnip]

So Himchan is going to jail, or well..he was...but the court suspended his sentence to give him time to try to receive forgiveness or some bs. 🙄 I’m not entirely sure if that means he’ll be arrested if she decides not to forgive him or not, but pretty sure he isn’t going to be forgiven since according to an article on naver his lawyer has filed for an appeal. So not sure what will happen between now and whenever the appeal process is over. *sigh* This man seriously believes he’s done nothing wrong.

Anyway...I wanted to just...post about my feelings on this whole thing. I was honestly relieved when I saw he’d lost..and was sentenced. (Tho again there’s that whole suspension thing) It’s nice to finally have an answer, even though a declaration of innocence wouldn’t have changed my view on him much anyway. His “implied consent” defense is what made my mind up about the situation in the first place. Even if by some plot twist her story was debunked(since he only admitted to some of the touching and not to the extent she claimed), I’d still be looking at him like...”so you still didn’t have clear consent tho....”.

There’s also the fact that this man was active while still in the middle of his trial... He actually tried to restart his career back in Dec. 2019. He ran off to japan and had a fanmeet, even was set to perform at a concert(didn’t happen because of covid), and tried to crowdfund a photobook. (With some ridiculous tier prices like one thousand usd ridiculous.) Then he was silent for awhile before posting an “apology” on Instagram and then becoming active again. I put apology in quotes because...Iunno...I found it sorta manipulative and he really just painted himself as a victim. I also think it was really misleading because so many fans didn’t even realize he was still on trial. Someone started a rumor that he had been cleared and that the female was suspected of blackmailing like 6 other people? It’s like they took the fact that he accused her of blackmail and twisted the story and blew it up and people were taking it as fact.

One thing that really makes me angry is the fact that while the other B.A.P members were trying to keep silent about him publicly and be distant from that situation, he just decided that he’d tell all his fans that they’re so close and hang out. These statements obv spread which put a giant target on the boys backs to receive hate. At one point the boys were all bombarded on social media with fans demanding they speak up about it. Zelo of course saw and spoke about his feelings.

I just don’t understand, if Himchan truly cared about the boys, how he could put them into a situation to receive hate. I don’t like the fact already that he was trying to start his solo career mid trial, I think it’s gross, but to try and drag the members down with him on top of that just infuriates me. Also! The victim, like imagine how she must have felt suffering through this long trial but seeing him out and about having fanmeets and releasing music like nothing happened. It’s such a slap on the face, it’s like he doesn’t care at all. I just really feel like we started to see Himchan’s true colors through all of this, a selfish person who cares for no one but himself.

To think even now that he’s been ruled guilty, he still has people that are blindly supporting him. Either refusing to believe he’s guilty...or the “I’m disappointed but I believe he can change and become a better person” camp. Look...I too would like to believe that he could learn and grow....but I don’t see how he’ll ever grow with the fans he has. They excuse everything he does and don’t hold him accountable at all. When he got a dui it was “oh it’s just a widdle mistake” or they blamed it on his mental health and just brushed it off. Now they’re doing the same. The only thing support has done for Himchan is make him believe he can get away with everything. I also...I just don’t believe he deserves to have a platform at this point. If he wants to grow and become better than let him do it away from the spotlight because the time for Himchan as a celebrity is over.

Like I said at the start though, he’s apparently filing for an appeal so doesn’t seem like he’s very remorseful. He believes he was in the right, and I hope my gut feeling is right and he’ll lose the appeal. The court said she had enough evidence against him so yea...still it’s another several months to a year waiting.

One thing I do wanna say though, the rest of B.A.P deserve love and support. I know some fans want to speculate on their personal feelings toward Himchan and criticize them for potentially not cutting him off immediately. I think it’s valid if you move on from them quietly(out of worry they may be friends bts) but I’ve seen some act like they’re just as guilty as Himchan which is wrong. I’ve seen people claim they support him, which is so far from the truth. It’s possible some members were still in contact with him at some point, but they have never promoted his activities or spoke up about his situation and tried to claim he wasn’t wrong. Honestly within the last year the boys have shown to just continually grow distant from him, despite him claiming otherwise. Also dear god Daehyun holding up 6 fingers as a hint for bap in a game of charades isn’t support. B.A.P had 6 members at debut it makes sense. You can acknowledge that a member was involved without actually supporting them in the present. I just felt the need to say that cause the poor boy had dumb people dragging him over it. 😩

It’s a little all over the place...but that’s my thoughts. I have some other opinions that I don’t feel like posting, but if anyone wants to discuss you can send me a message.

[originskey]

It’s time,

When she squeezed his hand, he stopped, turning to look her over. For a couple days now, she’d been slower. A little more out of it. Something weighed on her mind that Kratos couldn’t pick up, that made her steps heavy and her head even heavier.

“...Sorry, sorry. You wanted to show me the City of Glass, didn’t you? If we rest a little here, maybe we could...” “.....”

Silence fell between them, and while one hand still held onto his own tightly, the other went to wipe at her eyes, flicking tears into the mists with little effect.

“...Kratos, I don’t want to go.” ... “I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go...”

The wind picked up slightly, and the swordsman reached out, but... this time, she gently stopped him. That free hand put his down gently back to his side.

“Anna?” “Honey, I don’t... think I can go any further. Not as me. With all my thoughts and feelings, my own, I...”

She continued to squeeze, to cry, but again she put down his other hand when he tried to clear her face.

“I want to be here with you. And with Lloyd. I want to see Martel again, and I want to talk to Yuan. I want to be here for Zelos and Emil. But I’m not here for them. I can’t... be here. I’m not supposed to be here. I can feel it, like I’m not supposed to be here. And the further I go, the more it hurts...” “I should have noticed sooner, I’m sorry--” “No. No, you’ve been wonderful. You’ve been my protector through all of this. And now, I want to protect you. I don’t want to disappear so suddenly again. I don’t want to risk turning into...”

A twinge of pain flashed across his own eyes. It’s something that had been in the back of his mind, too. Was there a time limit to Anna being Anna? Would his own memory twist and warp her to the way she was that day? When would he have to be on that cliff again?

“...I’m sorry. That dread is mine to blame.” “It’s both of us.” Came a mumble. “I don’t want to hurt you, Kratos. I don’t want to hurt Lloyd, either. I can’t hurt my baby again.”

Though his hand held on as a reflex, her fingers gradually wriggled out of his grasp. The winds began to pick up, moving the gravel under her shoes. The hem of her skirt began to unravel, as if blowing piece by piece back into the mist.

“...I need to say goodbye.” “Please--” “I want to take control this time. I can’t leave like I did before. I need to do this my way. I... need to say goodbye as Anna. Not... as a monster looming over you.” “.....” “...Please, don’t look at me like that. This is better, isn’t? I-isn’t it?”

She took another step back, and pieces of her shawl became no more than puffs in the background.

“...You’re strong, Kratos. You’ll get through this.” “I...” “It won’t be like before. You have a responsibility to do the right thing this time. And you will, right?”

As he nodded, a lock of her hair took a ride on the breeze.

“You can count on Lloyd. And make sure he can count on you too, okay?” “O-of course.” “Be there for Martel, too. Take care of my friend out here. But, better this time.”

Something of an amused puff of air left his nose at the request.

“And, be nice to Zelos. He’s part of the family too.” “I’ll try.” “Give Yuan a thank-you kiss on the cheek, I never got to.” “Really?”

At least a smile finally broke on her face.

“Give Emil a place to go, that poor boy is all alone.” “I’ll leave the door open.” “Play nice with Kay, too, okay?” “I’ll, erm. Try.” “A-and, um... Listen, if you find someone else out there for you, I ah, I won’t stop you! I’ll be happy for you, I promise! You don’t have to--” “Anna, there’s no one like you. I could never love someone the way I loved you.”

She was half gone by the time she started to cry again, and she turned on her half-faded heel to walk into the mists. ... ...No, even she couldn’t do such a thing. One more time, she ran into Kratos, who stood with arms open. There was barely anything to her now, but he held onto her tightly. Her face was hidden in his chest, but the fabric catching her tears barely dampened.

“I love you. I love you, I love you...” “I love you, too.” “I’m always watching over you.” “I know, now. I know...” “Be there for Lloyd.” “I will.” “Be kind to...”

He could feel her lips move on his shirt, though no sound came from them. The last of Anna joined the rest of the fog, and he held nothing but air in his arms. Those same arms folded over themselves as he stood in the mists, watching it transform back into the concrete buildings and glass windows around him. The smell of grass left, replaced by a mosaic of scents from the city.

It started to rain, but he could barely feel it.

“...Goodbye, Anna.”

[aurantia-ignis]

Tales!

You cannot put me on the spot like this I have too many to list iwoiejaiowecow

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most) Yuri Zelos Gaius Pascal Repede Vicious Richea Hisui Leon Eizen Lambda Laphicet-----

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped) Laphicet, Richea, Repede, Lulu, Chaltier

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave) Estelle ;w; Also Paraiba and Richea and Benwick!!

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week) Kurogane. Also the Gaius kitty in X2

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave) Zaveid and Zelos! ......... Considering how similar they are to Vicious I'm surprised Vicious has that many fans ^^;;;

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason) At this point I basically would torture all of my faves because I'm a writer. But special mentions go to Zaveid and Chalcedony.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell) Still Emeraude. Bisley. Michael from Zestiria......... and Dezel. :x

[lifeiszestyy]

tales of, x men (for the fandom ask!!)

ohy mgod

tales of

blorbo: Zelos Wilder, baybeeeeeee

scrunkly: i don't generally feel cuteness aggression, but i would say... probably mieu

scrimblo bimblo: jdalskfjaldsj underrated/underappreciated character?? oh geez idk, like, Reid and Farah lbr

glup shitto: my fav characters that i don't ever hear anyone talk about are probably the original ion and matthias

poor little meow meow: my favorite dumbass of all time dist the runny

horse plinko: a character i would torment for fun?? i do not torment characters as often as i should, probably, but i feel like zelos or raven because i love them

eeby deeby: barbatos--

x-men

blorbo: fuck. quentin

scrunkly: uhhhhhhhhh hmm. no one.

scrimblo bimblo: my boy doug ramsey

glup shitto: hmm do i have any obscure favs?? i'm not up to date on current comics so i don't know who's popular or not

poor little meow meow: elixir and quentin, oop

horse plinko: ...elixir and quentin

eeby deeby: quentin but also magneto but also scott summers--

[mannatea]

Predictably asking for Symphonia for the fandom meme!

I stan. 🙏

the first character i ever fell in love with: Raine. Even as a teenager she was my favorite and I loved her immediately.

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: I actually think I used to really like Zelos and found him hilarious when I was a teenager myself, and now I'm like 😨 about half of what he does and says. Yikes, bro. It actually makes me wonder how differently he would be written if the game was coming out for the first time now, because a lot of the stuff in the game just would NEVER fly these days.

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: Ah. Behold, my personal cringe: I used to ship Kratos/Raine. It didn't last very long because my fellow shippers in 2004 made me abandon ship entirely & do a heelturn toward my current OTP out of pure spite. If I'm being honest I was only shipping it because they were the only two adults in the party for a while, anyway, so it wasn't a serious attachment. 🙄 But like, it should be noted that this happened while I was in the middle of writing a love triangle fic. (My other personal cringe, shh.)

my ultimate favorite character™: RAINE, MY BELOVED. 🤍 I literally love every single thing about her.

prettiest character: You thought I was going to say Raine didn't you? WRONG. It's Yuan, actually. Look at him.

my most hated character: RODYLE. He's just so hateful.

my OTP: Regal/Raine. I will die on this hill, actually. (And have been quietly since late 2004.) This is the only ship I just won't compromise on. What can I say about it? Their dynamic just hits on a lot of notes that work exceedingly well for me personally. I won't write a manifesto here (you may thank me for holding back for your benefit) but I love both of them so much and think their personalities balance one another out incredibly well, which is a lot of fun to write.

my NOTP: Basically any Raine ship that isn't my OTP is a NOTP for me, though I do have two in particular I would consider NOTPs. IYKYK.

favorite episode skit: The My Sister skit. IT GETS ME EVERY TIME.

saddest death: Marble. SHE'S AN OLD WOMAN. PLEASE.

favorite season side plot/scene: Virginia, honestly. It messes me up every time. The doll haunts me to this day. Also, that they so INTENTIONALLY made Raine look exactly like her. Poor Raine just can't escape. And the trauma?? AHHHH.

least favorite season side plot/scene: That buffoonish Peeping Tom thing at the hot springs. I wanted more meaningful conversation with my girls and I had to deal with that instead. NO WAIT I HATE THE SCENE IN SYBAK LOOKING FOR THE LITTLE BOY'S MOM SO MUCH MORE. ZELOS'S BOOTSTRAPS SPEECH WAS THE WORST THING I HAVE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF READING, not because it wasn't 100% in character for him (HILARIOUSLY IT IS VERY IN CHARACTER 🤣) but because I feel like nobody else in the scene was written in a believable way—not Regal, not Colette, and not Lloyd. WTF WAS THAT SCENE?

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate am lukewarm about: Hate is a strong word here so I toned it down. I feel very lukewarm about Kratos. In fact, I'd go so far as to say his potential was a bit wasted just because they didn't bother to do enough with him.

my ‘you’re a piece of trash, but you’re still a fave well-liked’ fave: This is a hard one, because the trash characters are still trash to me. I'll maybe go with Kate or George for this. They both did terrible things but I still find them interesting and compelling as characters.

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Colette, always. Also? Presea.

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: I don't have one because you'll never see me shipping something like this. It's not my cuppa.

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: This is a hard one. Maybe Genis/Presea for this? I think they are good for one another but they're both too young BY A LOT to really be thinking that deeply about things. However, their respect for one another and their compassion/understanding of what the other has been through could lead to something nice later in life. I'm not over those adorable skits where Genis asks for advice from others on what present to get for her and they all collectively give him the worst advice imaginable and he ends up buying her a whetstone because he KNOWS HER AS A PERSON and she LOVES THE GIFT. This is what peak performance looks like in a person, actually.

Thanks! ♥

[darkhymns-fic]

Rescue Mission in a Shadowy Wood

Lloyd and Colette leave for Gaoracchia Forest together to rescue a lost dog, but the creepy place seems to be even creepier when it's just themselves...

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters/Pairing: Lloyd Irving/Colette Brunel Rating: G Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: Written for Colloyd Week, Day 2: Sidequest! This isn't referencing any specific sidequest in-game, but just making one myself because I've actually had this silly idea in my head for a while. Fair warning that a certain point of this fic might have a claustrophobia trigger? It's mainly emphasizing an action that happens in battle actually and is mostly brief, but just to be safe. (I'm sorry, Lloyd) :'D

--

It all started with a lost doggy.

“Tiggy!” Colette called out, walking in-between the thick roots that snaked across the forest floor, completely unmindful to the chill that whistled through the boughs overhead. “Where are you?” Her shout reverberated against the trees, echoed back at her like a wandering ghost in search of something precious.

Such a sound would usually send a shiver down one’s spine, but Colette happened to enjoy the acoustics, calling out another “Hellooo Tiggyyyy!” When she heard her own voice come back to her, warbly and almost breathless, she giggled against her hand. “It sounds so silly! Don’t you think so, Lloyd? …Lloyd?”

The usual red she was used to seeing was nowhere near her, and so she had to look farther down the path that led out to Mizuho. Only a little bit away, but right there, in the middle of the path, Lloyd was standing, rubbing an arm as he gazed up at the curled trees that lined the road.

“…Huh? Uh, y-yeah, yeah! Definitely…um…”

Though just a few steps back, he was looking wistfully from the path they came through. The sunlight was just out of reach, gliding along the ground before being abruptly stopped by the shadows of Gaoracchia Forest’s trees.

From where he stood, he looked towards Colette as if he were a lost doggy himself, making her heart flutter in her chest.

“Oh! Are you scared, Lloyd?”

“No way!” Lloyd answered instantly – with maybe a little squeak to this voice. “I mean… nah. I go through these kinds of woods all the time!” He then flinched when he heard a particularly weird-sounding bird call from above them, complemented by the rustling of leaves. “Just…not usually at night…”

“It’s okay to be scared!” Colette walked back to him, taking a hand of his gently. “You’re still thinking about Zelos’ stories?”

A grumble as he instinctively tightened his fingers around hers. “…Maybe…”

It was natural for their group to go off on strange little tangents on their journey all the time, and Tethe’alla provided a whole new place for them to explore. From the sprawling roadways of Meltokio, to the steep cliffs that had made up Mt. Fooji, and now here, in a forest that could have been like Iselia’s woods if the trees didn’t continually block out the sun, or that the pathways didn’t keep being blocked by vines that refused to budge.

“It was really creepy, wasn’t it?” Colette said, gently tugging Lloyd along as they walked deeper into a place that few people dared to tread through. “But also very sad too. All those poor ghosts…”

“Geez, Colette, if you thought it was scary, you sure don’t act like it!” Lloyd’s foot stumbled against one such root – which he was sure hadn’t been right there before! – and had to rely on Colette’s grip to keep himself balanced. “You just clapped when he finished telling!”

“Hm, but he told it very well! Don’t you think?”

Going by how both he and Genis had run away in fear after hearing it, he sighed. “Guess so…”

“But I’m happy you wanted to come here with me, Lloyd. It’d be hard to search through this forest for Tiggy by myself.”

“Well, I couldn’t let you go alone.” And also, Colette had already been rushing for the forest once she heard about the Mizuho shopkeeper’s little dog that had wandered in here, so Lloyd didn’t exactly have much time to wait behind. “But we probably should have told the others we’d be gone, too.”

“I’m sorry,” Colette voiced, and in her tone was complete sincerity. Still, she directed her gaze forward, through the darkness. “But I don’t want to leave a poor doggy out here all alone.”

“I know.” For a moment, Lloyd’s fear of the forest was forgotten. He held back Colette’s hand tightly, giving her a wide grin and a thumbs up once he caught her attention. “Well, four eyes are better than two! So don’t worry. We’ll definitely find Tiggy no matter what!” Lloyd felt proud then, and brave! He stood up tall, keeping Colette’s hands in his. “That’s just math!”

Her smile back was full of hope at the idea. “Thank you, Lloyd. I’m sorry to always be so much trouble.”

“You’re not! Besides, we’ve gone through this forest so we can do it again-”

Lloyd expected a lot of things, especially in this forest. He expected another creepy noise just at his ear, like a whisper which he swore he had heard a few times now, or the cold wind suddenly blowing and biting at his neck, or even maybe just some scary-looking rabbit to jump out at him – which would at least be familiar to him and something he could fight against.

He didn’t expect the horrific, high-pitched screaming that seemed to echo all around them, from every tree on the path, until it felt like they were surrounded by the sound completely.

Lloyd immediately jumped, tripped over another root, then brought Colette in a protective, but very much shaking hug, looking all around them. “W-w-what was that?!”

Colette blinked, her hair just brushing underneath Lloyd’s chin. She could feel the rapid beating of his heart through his jacket, the warmth of his arms around her back. She almost didn’t want to answer to break this nice moment…

“Hm, was it Tiggy?” At that, she got excited. “Maybe he heard us!”

“That…was not Tiggy! No way was that Tiggy! It sounded like… like a person!” Lloyd slowly panned his head around them, at the trees overhead that seemed to somehow shift in closer, their boughs reaching out like broken arms. “The thief from the story…?” Lloyd shook his head. “No way. That story was fake! …Wasn’t it…?”

“Hm, if it’s not Tiggy, then maybe whoever screamed is with him.” Colette reluctantly pressed her hands against Lloyd’s chest. She didn’t really want to leave this place of warmth in Lloyd’s arms, the safe way he made her feel just then, but when a doggy was in trouble… she couldn’t sit back! “They’re probably both lost. We need to hurry and find them!”

Even though Lloyd’s face looked very pale, and that he couldn’t seem to stop shivering (maybe he was also cold?), he nodded, then took a deep breath. “You’re right… Okay! Let’s go! I even got the Sorcerer’s Ring to help out if any weird plants get in the way!” Such a ring was over his finger, having changed it to give light instead of fire. “It’s a good thing I never gave this back, huh.”

She was always so happy to have Lloyd’s full support. With more confidence than before, Colette headed once again down the path, deeper into the forest. “It sounded like it came from this way!”

“Yeah! Right.. right behind you!”

The blood-curdling scream hadn’t happened again (to Lloyd’s immense relief) but the forest sounds grew louder the more they went in. The creaking of the branches in the wind, the snap of the leaves as they stepped over them on the path, and loud calls from birds that Lloyd couldn’t exactly place… The problem was, it was easy to get lost inside, and soon enough, both found themselves passing by the same fallen tree log to their right for the fifth time in a row.

“I could try to fly up and look around?” Colette suggested, knowing their predicament was not exactly in the best light. “The branches are a little thick but maybe…”

“Wait, don’t leave!” Lloyd instantly squeaked before clearing his throat and smiling like nothing was wrong at all. “I- I mean, with the way this forest is, it’s probably harder to see from up there. Also, we should stick together!” If Lloyd at least had his Rheaird, he could have flown up with her, but he had left it in the wingpack with the others…

“Ah, you’re right! Then maybe we can-” At that, Colette stopped, tilted her head, then turned to her left, looking down past a thick underbrush that deviated off the road.

“Colette? What’s wrong?” Lloyd asked, hands on the hilts of his swords, momentarily forgetting he was scared out of his mind.

“I hear a doggy whine...” She turned to Lloyd with wide eyes, fists clenched near her chest. “I hear Tiggy! He’s frightened, Lloyd!”

Before he could even get a word out, Colette had rushed off, straight into the darkness and in-between two closely-knitted trees.

“Wait! Colette!” He dashed after her in the same direction, trying his very best to ignore Zelos’ stories so that he could stop shaking and run faster! But catching up to Colette proved to be a bit more difficult than he anticipated…

The thing was, when it came to doggies, no matter how big or small, whether nameless or not, Colette could hardly focus on anything else. He watched as she expertly dodged any forest debris on the ground, her clumsiness suddenly vanishing. “Tiggy!” she called out, using her hands to throw out her voice more. “Tiggy! Please come home!”

“T-Tiggy!” Lloyd called out too, a little tired with how much he had to run just to be on Colette’s same pace. Shadows kept dancing at the corner of his eyes, and never was he able to catch their shape as he turned his head. But, surely it was nothing? They’ve already fought weird monsters in this place before… He had no reason to be scared!

And then, at a certain point, Colette no longer wanted to just run. It must have been by instinct, for she summoned her wings with barely a flinch, using them to flutter behind her and float over the dips in the forest floor, over any roots that were too high up.

Colette kept flying faster and faster, until Lloyd nearly lost his breath. Which was odd because he was quite used to running around! But Colette moved so fast! Her dedication to dogs was truly admirable “Hold on! I can’t…fly…”

“Ah, sorry!” Even in her pursuit, she slowed down just a bit, looking back to Lloyd. “But, I think I’m getting closer to him now!”

“Would a dog really run this far out?” he asked, unsure of the answer to his question. Even Noishe wouldn’t wander this far in… But then again, Noishe wouldn’t get close to such a forest in the first place.

“Ah, I see him!” And it was times like these that Lloyd wondered if Colette also had angelic sight along with her hearing! “Tiggy!”

All he could last see was the flutter of her pink wings, quickly swallowed up by the dark as she turned a corner. At the last second, creeping vines and brush covered up the way she had just vanished through.

“No! Colette!” Lloyd’s first instinct was to whack at the vines with his swords, yet the steel bounced off the brush as if it were made of stone. It only took him a moment to remember what he should do instead. With shaking hands and trying to hold one of his swords underneath his arm, Lloyd activated his Sorcerer’s Ring to point the sunlight at the thick leaves. “Come on, hurry up!”

Of course, it didn’t exactly work right away. (It never did!!) First, he held the ring at the wrong angle somehow, and then the ring just wouldn’t turn on, and then the ring had run out of the necessary sunlight, so Lloyd had to go back a-ways to a meager spot where the sunlight beamed through and absorb it through the ring like he was a flower reaching for the sun.

“This thing is so stupid!” he grumbled, then marched back to the vines that were in his way. This time, he directed the ring at the exact right spot, and the leaves retreated into the shadows, giving him room to move through. “That took forever…”

But he had no time to keep complaining! Running as fast as he could, swords unsheathed, he stumbled right into the dark, seeing only the outlines of overhanging trees, the breaks of blue sky overhead… and then pink light.

“Lloyd! Hi!” she waved at him cheerfully from a distance. “Look, I found Tiggy!”

And there she was, with the missing dog cradled in her arms. Paws were hanging upward as she held him facing up, a tongue lolling out of his mouth with happy panting. The two-colored fur coat, of white and gentle brown, let Lloyd know that this was the right dog!

That, and they were both surrounded by a group of monsters that looked quite ready to charge at them.

Even from their distance in the darkness, Lloyd could still see her smile apologetically. “It’s a bit hard to fight them while carrying Tiggy though…”

Lloyd only had a quick second to see what monsters they were dealing with; a couple of those weird looking pumpkin trees, a ghost that looked a bit lonely ( and he was sure it wasn’t the thief’s ghost from Zelos’ story so he could deal with it!) one of the horned animal-skull spellcasters that always spoke so loud, and what Professor Sage had termed a Coffin Master, and with the way they hunched over in their dark shroud where only pinpricks of red light could be seen, they looked as if they would be squashed by the quite literal coffin they were lugging around.

This one was closer to Colette, and was slowly lumbering towards her.

“Watch out!” With a well-timed Demon Fang, he got the Coffin Master to stagger, getting its attention. Lloyd felt his fear leave him. Sure, these things were still really creepy, but if he could fight them, then it wasn’t an issue!

Colette took the opportunity to fly just to the side, closer to Lloyd, then depositing Tiggy back on the ground behind them. “Now just stay right there!” she told it happily as she got out her chakrams. Already the monsters were surrounding them. They’d have to fight their way through to escape!

“I got your back, okay, Colette?” Lloyd said, moving close to her as he held out his swords. “Let’s get rid of these guys and get Tiggy out of here!”

“Okay!” Colette smiled as she was already throwing out a chakram at the spellcaster’s head before he could finish his chant. Lloyd rushed straight at the pumpkin trees that were waddling towards them. It would be harder without the others, but they had this now!

“I wish we didn’t have to hurt them still,” Colette softly spoke, all as she threw a Pow Hammer right at the ghost and making it dizzy from the contact. “Those pumpkins are really cute.”

“Colette, I don’t get how you find these cute! They keep making those weird faces at us!” And Lloyd had carved plenty of pumpkins for the holidays back at Iselia… and even he had never been able to make as scary of faces in his pumpkins as these ones did. He parried one that lobbed one of the massive gourds at him.

“It’s the way they walked! Didn’t you notice?” A flash of Angel Feathers, and the lonely ghost vanished from the angelic magic to be lonely no more.

“It’s kinda hard to…” Another thrust, and finally the last pumpkin tree fell over. But that was when he noticed the lumbering Coffin Master again, heading once more towards Tiggy who had wandered to the left just a bit, sniffing at an errant clump of grass.

“Tiggy, no!” Lloyd rushed over to stand in-between both monster and unaware dog, preparing a strong attack to keep it protected!

He only noticed too late how the Coffin Master turned around – but not to run off.

“Hunting Bea-!” Lloyd’s voice was quickly cut off once a weird tail-like appendage burst out from the coffin that had opened so suddenly, wrapping around his torso. “Ack!”

“Lloyd?” Colette could barely have time to turn, busy trying to ward off the last spellcaster who kept trying to pull off at least one successful magic arte.

Lloyd couldn’t even shout, the air already leaving his body once the tail lifted him off the ground, then dragged him closer and closer to a dark void that was…“Wait wait wait Colette help let me go LET ME GO-”

“Huh?”

“COLETTE!” Lloyd’s voice vanished once he was pulled into the coffin, the lid locking tight with a loud click!

Finally able to defeat the spellcaster who fell to the ground with a loud, “NooOOooo..!” Colette turned around, only to find Lloyd was gone, a few remaining pumpkin trees, and maybe a zombie, in his place. “Lloyd? Where are you? Are you okay?” Maybe he had gotten so scared that he ran away…

That is, until she heard the muffled screaming. It sounded familiar! And it wasn’t too far away!

She turned her head to see the coffin on one monster’s back shake. “Are you in there?”

Another scream, followed by desperate knocking against the lid so much that it shook from its hinges.

“Oh good! I thought you’d gotten lost too!” That was a big relief to her. With a nod, she readied herself for one last thing she’d been preparing for. “Don’t worry! I’ll get you out!”

The coffin kept shaking and screaming. Maybe he couldn’t hear her…

Meanwhile, the dog was still sniffing around and scratching at an occasional itch, but luckily the monsters were no longer paying attention to it. Colette quickly whispered the ritual prayer that she had repeated many times before, her wings lifting her and lighting up the dark forest, all as the remaining monsters headed for her. “Cast thy purifying light upon these corrupt souls… Judgment!”

A dazzling brilliance of magic illuminated the area, making the shadow-soaked plants curl up, and making the dog’s eyes blink a little in surprise. Beams of light rained from above to strike at the mob of monsters, including the one with the coffin on his back.

Once all fell, the coffin fell too – and with the force of its impact to the ground, busted the lid open.

“-OUT LET ME OUT!” Lloyd fell to the grass in mid-shout, panting heavily, still clutching his swords with shaking hands. He looked like he was trying to get something off of him until he realized he was free and no longer confined. His face was entirely pale as he looked around in barely concealed shock. “Wh-wha…I … man…” He dropped his swords, blinked once more, then dropped backwards in a heap.

“Lloyd!” Colette rushed up to him, and so did Tiggy, who caught up to him first and was now curiously sniffing his cheek. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Not… not physically…” Lloyd heaved out, still trying to catch his breath. “I’m… probably gonna have nightmares for weeks and… not want to be in small spaces for a while… but…that’s okay…”

Colette looked at him with guilt, reaching for one of his hands and clutching it tight. “I’m sorry. I made you come with me…”

“Colette… don’t think that.” He looked to her and to Tiggy who was now pawing at his shoulder like he was holding a secret treat from him. “We found Tiggy. That’s what’s important. I’ll.. be okay!” With his free hand, he held up a shaking thumbs up. “See? No….no problem…”

Still, she worried. His face was as white as Genis’ hair, so much so that she felt compelled to brush her hand against his cheek. At least he still felt warm. “Lloyd, you were so brave for protecting Tiggy.” The mentioned dog was now sniffing her hand along with his face, the feel of his wet nose making her giggle. “I think he knows it too.”

Lloyd’s grin was a little shaky, but it was real. “We can’t let any dog get hurt, can we?” She felt his face press into her hand, though maybe that was just because he was tired. “That’s what I learned from you… and what I admire about you so much, Colette.”

The words sent a flutter through her chest. Even in this dark forest where creepy denizens of the world lived in, she had never felt as warm and as bright as right now. If only she could keep staying in this moment, with both Lloyd and doggy by her side…

A strange cawing echoed above them, and she felt Lloyd flinch. “Er, think we can leave this place actually?” He sat up, though kept close to her as much as he could.

“Oh, of course!” And as she helped him up, making sure to carry Tiggy in her arms so he wouldn’t get lost again, both made their way out of the area and stepped around fallen monsters. “Sheena gave me directions around here earlier, so we shouldn’t get lost!”

“That’s good…” Lloyd still breathed a little heavily, but he held her hand, slightly leaning against her as they walked. “Also, I… think I know where that scream from earlier came from,” he said with a shudder. “We should probably walk a little faster..”

“Yep!” And though Lloyd didn’t expand much further about the scream (maybe when they were with their friends again, she could gently ask him about it) they made their way through the darkness until the break in the forest trees showed them open skies and fresh air.

She was happy that Lloyd would follow her, even into the darkest woods imaginable - but next time, she’d make sure they’d go somewhere with a little more sunlight.

[stitchandani]

thoughts//Zelo hardships and married-life

when Z and Lilo first got married, it was kinda rough

mostly this was because Stitch had just recently left, and Lilo was starting to think she'd never see him or Jumba and Pleakley again, which sucked

see she's at this new point in her life where, if she doesn't give in to total despair at being 'abandoned' by them, she can enjoy something new and totally great: having a husband! Lilo basically drowns all her sorrows by throwing herself into this new life with Z. She strings meant-for-outdoors paper lantern lights up all over the inside of their little shack-house. She makes breakfast every morning for him (burnt cinnamon bagel with grocery-store vanilla frosting spread on it and coconut sprinkles). She goes to Honolulu and picks up all the extra shifts at the library where she already worked in college, and she's working 80% of the time

she figures if she just stays busy, and stays away from Kauai, she won't have to face the reality that half of her family just...completely disappeared there's never been a time, since she met Stitch, that the alien half of her Ohana was really and truly gone and not coming back when Leroy happened, that was as close as it's ever gotten, and Lilo is devastated to think it might be happening all over again - but permanently this time, worse this time; Stitch left his tiki necklace and she knows what that means but she can't think about it (she keeps it under her pillow)

can't think about how Stitch wasn't there when she married Zeke, and how Pleakley didn't design her dress, and Jumba didn't throw cake at somebody at the reception, and they won't be there for Christmas or New Year's and - so Lilo does everything she can to pretend she's excited about this new life with Zeke (she is - or - she would be if Stitch hadn't left, but - no, she can't think of that, it's not fair to Zeke) and she wants "clean laundry", as she calls it, which means a 'blank slate', a fresh start Zeke is so aware of how much pain his new wife is in and he's bending over backwards 24/7 to either get her to talk about it or to cheer her up and she acts like she's cheered up but he knows her too well to be fooled

and meanwhile they're losing money because he's not getting enough gigs in the city and working at the warehouse downtown isn't exactly the most lucrative profession and she takes up photography on the side which is one more thing keeping her busy he finds the tiki necklace under her pillow one night; it had almost fallen behind the bed Asks if she needs to talk and she changes the subject. He asks again and Lilo's like nope and "Besides - it's not like talking will bring them back, Z"

"No - but - maybe you need to talk anyway? Just...y'know get it all out" "I already got it all out. Promise" and then she goes to take a nap and doesn't get up again till the next day and Zeke is really worried but the more he mentions Stitch and the others, the more Lilo gets short with him, and the closer she gets to smacking that stupid manager at the library who keeps mentioning her clothes not being proper "work attire" the closer she gets to throwing the toaster out on the curb because it broke again, the closer she gets to pushing Zeke away with every sympathetic look he gives her it's a real struggle for a while, poor things

[tales-of-sweets]

Symphonia for the meme :]

Blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most):

Genis!! I love that sassy little guy, my son 🥺 I also love Sheena too, she's so cool and funny and has had such a hard life, I do anything for her 💞

Scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped):

KRATOS!!! like wtf why is this grown ass man so adorable like I feel so many things every time I look at his sad little face, I just wanna pinch his cheeks or grab him by his cape and swing him around. I also feel the same way about the pepsi version of Kratos (Regal) to a lesser extent. Regal is so cute too and he just looks like :<

Scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave):

Hmm, idk yet. Maybe I still need to play more? So far all of the characters I like are main characters and pretty universally liked. Normally I would put a villain in this space but I actually hate or am indifferent too all of the villains so unfortunately no one :/

Glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week):

Same as above

Poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave):

In a shocking turn of events... Zelos? He's a human shaped pile of garbage but he's also just a sad little guy, I kinda dig him

Horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason):

When talking about characters I tend to bully Lloyd, Zelos, and Genis pretty consistently. In terms of actually making them suffer from an angst perspective I don't particularly have one yet but I have the feeling that Kratos, Regal, and Zelos will certainly be at the top of the list.

Eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell):

Goodbye Zelos...

[gm--requests]

Selca Ship (for my irl)

bitch i don’t even know why you sent one of these in as if i don’t already know your biases and ship you with them kasjdfhlajd this would be like me dming you and being like “hey chey, who in nct do you ship me with?” but here ya go, i guess i’ll just use this as an excuse to show off how hot you are aslkdjf;alskd @yunhossmallperson​

ATEEZ’s Yunho- 

Firstly, he is a large lengthy man and what do most large and lengthy men in the kpop industry like? Tiny and cute things. *insert you here* Yunho is always always ALWAYS commenting on how petite you are. He is always grabbing your hands in his and lining up your palms or closing his fingers around your open hands or doing some cute normal couple shit and then being like “you’re just so tiny i don’t know how you could ever possibly take me” just because he loves seeing you flustered. He would take you on dates to really fancy places just because he can. He likes seeing you get dressed up and not quite know how to act. Oh! He would also be obsessed with dancing with you (and the thrill of having to sneak you in and out of the practice room, he’d be on his mission impossible shit) You’d be like “Yunho are humming right now?” and he’d be like “Yes, it’s my theme song.” and instead of telling him to shut up, you just join in until you’re both doing very very poor attempts at parkour down the hallways of the building. You two? literally crack heads. Speaking of crackheads, he would happily introduce you to all of his members with so much pride. He is the type to puff out his chest and stand a little taller when he announces that he actually managed to get with someone as pretty as you. 

B.A.P’s Zelo- 

You and Zelo are that one alternative couple that people use in mood boards for like “Skater! AU’s” except for only on the outside because really your relationship looks a lot like goofy photos of one another as your lock screens and tons of movie nights filled with takeaway and inside jokes, that being said I do think the both of you would spend a lot of time hanging out at old skate parks and basketball courts way past any curfews that you had. You’d be hanging out with a crowd of people that I don’t really know if you know much about. Y’all would honest to god be two little thugs, doing thug shit. This man definitely smokes so prepare for that and also be prepared for genuine deep conversations. I’m not talking about just the theoretical “oh why are we here” bullshit, no I mean like the “If you opened the door to a room and it was filled with every person you loved, romantically or platonically, and you could only pick five of them to live who would you pick and why?” Zelo also struggles with anxiety and depression so it will be your job to listen to him and work hard to be supportive because he will one million percent definitely be supportive and understanding when it comes to you. 

Stray Kids’ Jisung/Han- 

You two would barely seem like a couple tbh. you’re more like the best friends that hang out a lot and kiss sometimes. I always associate your love of Jisung with your love of cheesecake so I have a very vivid image of the two of you sitting outside one of those 24 hour 7/11′s in korea, when he knows he is supposed to be sleeping because he has practice at 8 am  sharing one of those pre-made cheesecakes that you find in the freezer section. You two would have tons of inside jokes and the dorms would always be stacked high with snacks for when you’d come over for movie nights and game nights and “hey i’m bored and wanna kiss you a lot” nights. Jisung would always be taking pictures of you, no matter what you were doing and he’d always want to be holding your hand. Also when he introduces you to the rest of the boys and you notice that he is a little tense and protective please note that it is because he is easily jealous and doesn’t want them to be flirty with you. I think people don’t talk enough about how mushy and k-drama boy Jisung is. Just cut the man some slack on the flirting with Minho or Hyunjin i mean or don’t because jisung won’t hesitate to break you in half.