Tales of Graces f: DAY SIXTEEN

[sincere]

Do you know what time it is?!

Yeah, that's right

I reread my liveblogs

and I dug up this stupid game from a year ago

and I am going to finish the adult era if it's the last thing I do



Starting from: Who the hell knows? Er... After going to Fodra, before heading to Lastalia. This is supposed to be Sidequest Tiem.

Comments

[sincere]

SKIT!

Everyone reaffirms all the things they're fighting for, with a few notable exceptions for characters who are just along for the ride, I guess. Blah blah last battle JRPG we all know.

[sincere]

On to the last battle!!

We're looking now at the Lastalia, a raging bright core of power here in the nothingness. Everyone stares at it very lingeringly.

Richard is in front of the brightness, absorbing stuff in his demony form. He tells Asbel not to interfere, and Asbel tries to talk him out of erasing humanity. But Richard rants about how humans are petty and cruel and selfish and they bring misery to everything around them.

Asbel: What happens after that when you're all alone?! This is not the way to eliminate pain!
Asbel: I was so happy to have a friend like you when I was in pain.
Asbel: You can bring peace with your kindness, you don't have to do it this way!

Richard: My dear Asbel. It is impossible to stop us now. You are about to die by our hand.

Blah blah. Punch Richard in the face time!

[sincere]

First round of demon Richard, done.

He is all sad now and he lost his pretty wings. He falls over and mutters about impossibilities, etc.

Cheria begs Lambda to leave Richard alone, but Sophie says they've been fused for too long and can't be separated. Richard looks up at Asbel.

Richard: I knew you would stop me, Asbel.
Richard: I didn't want to be betrayed again... I didn't want to trust anyone.
Richard: It was better for everyone to die than to suffer any longer.
Richard: But I just... wanted... someone to understand me.
Richard: Pathetic. Even as I fought you, I wanted you to save me.

Asbel: Asshole, I am still your friend, and I am always going to help you

Richard: ...Thank you. I wish I could have seen it sooner. I wish everything could have turned out differently.
Richard: But it's all too late.

[sincere]

Richard and Lambda are a pile of feelings that can't be separated even in his own mind, and he's afraid he's going to lash out and kill them. He asks them to kill them before Lambda recovers.

But Lambda reanimates Richard and we all just stand around while Richard begs us to finish him. Richard struggles against Lambda, but Lambda takes this as a sign that Richard doesn't have the will to live, and attacks him. Asbel throws himself at Richard and tries to help him, and succeeds in pulling him out of Lambda's grasp! Cool.

Richard is just going to lie here while we fight Lambda-fused-with-eleth. Lambda accuses us of just wanting something to slaughter, and lashes out at us.

Boss fight again!

[sincere]

We end the final boss battle with Lambda insisting "You haven't won anything!" which is provably wrong, because I just got a victory screen.

[sincere]

Afterward we all stand around panting and Pascal points out that the Lastalia is absorbing all the eleth again. Sophie says that soon it will return to normal, and then the eleth will return to the valkines cryas again, and then everything will be totally perfect.

Except for all the eleth shortages that were plaguing and starving the world even before Richard went around and started molesting the valkines cryas, but shhhh.

[rainfall]

Richard was already eating them?!? obviously?!?!??!? maybe

[sincere]

But Pascal is like, "Wait... Lambda is fading away. If his energy is absorbed into the Lastalia, won't he disappear?"

After a pause, Sophie says, "No. He won't." He'll just fall asleep and eventually he'll recover and regain his power.

Uh-oh! But Sophie knows what to do. After all, she has some mutually assured destruction that will allow her to kill both of them in one big boom, right?

So she steps up and says her goodbyes.

[sincere]

Everyone complains a little bit but they muster no real objection for long agonizing moments as she starts to do it, but Asbel finally jumps in front of her and shoves himself into Lambda instead, while everyone... stands around and complains. (Cheria musters a full-out dramatic NOOOOOOO while he's still just standing there.)

He's not going to let Lambda absorb him. He just wants to talk to him.

[sincere]

Asbel wakes up in a neutral headspace that's neither of theirs. Lambda is like, yeah, I'm going to take control of your mind and body, that's cool, right? I'll let you see my new world!

In Lambda's new world without annoying people, and Lambda won't have to run and hide, and he won't be made to suffer, and the world will flourish, and it'll be awesome.

And Asbel just stands there and bluhs.

[sincere]

Meanwhile, Richard wakes up and drags himself over to Asbel. Sophie is somehow allowing everyone to hear what's happening in Asbel's head, because magic.

Richard thinks Asbel might have a better chance because Asbel isn't weak and full of resentment and bitterness for everything like he (and Lambda) are. :|a

[rainfall]

*just for himself

/kof

[sincere]

Asbel: So we did see those things from your past.
Lambda: DID YOU ENJOY SEEING YOUR ENEMY SUFFER?
Asbel: No! Jesus. I know what suffering is like, I don't want anyone to go through that.

Lambda is stubbornly shaking his head and crossing his arms and going "NO NO NO YOU'RE TRYING TO TRICK ME WITH YOUR NICENESS" and Asbel is like "You don't understand, I am the lowliest worm on this planet but I can help you. You don't want to perpetuate more tragedy, do you? That just makes you more alone. Cornell didn't want you to suffer alone."

Lamba: ...Cornell told me to live.
Asbel: He wanted to show you what the world was like. To show you how to learn and to live.
Asbel: You've only felt pain and sadness so far, but there's more to the world than that! That's what he wanted you to see.
Lambda: ...
Asbel: Let's go see that world together.
Lambda: I would consume you in time. You would disappear.
Asbel: You won't.
Lambda: It's inevitable. Humans can't resist me.
Asbel: Then I'll take that chance. I want to prove that there's worth in humans, too.

Lambda says it will be a battle, because the moment Asbel lets down his guard, Lambda will absorb him. And Asbel's like, 'kay. No self-worth at all, this kid.

[sincere]

But Lambda is weakened now, and he starts to sleep. Asbel races up to him and reaches out, but Lambda is fading. Asbel pleads with him to stay intact.

"I have to make you see!"

[sincere]

Asbel wakes up, with one eye of each color, and everyone melts with relief. Sophie confirms that Lambda is sleeping inside him, and he's different. "This Lambda... doesn't need to be destroyed."

Let's go home! Hooray!

[sincere]

He asks Lambda to watch him, and to see for himself.

rainfall: I think we have very visible proof that he's watching.
sincere: He's got one of your eyeballs!

[sincere]

Meanwhile, monsters are attacking? Or there was a timeskip? Everyone seems to know that Richard is all better and no one is worried about him eating any valkines or anything. Richard is helping people and Cheria tries to heal him, but he runs off again.

Richard is determined to make amends for what he's done by fighting all these monsters personally.

[sincere]

Pascal and some Amarcians are working on a valkines project. They're trying to find a new way to do the things without exploding the valkines. I so don't care. Blah blah Pascal hasn't taken a shower in a week.

Fourier: You're a girl! You're supposed to bathe!
Me: Everyone is supposed to bathe.

I really thought Fourier was going to collaborate with Pascal on what she's stumped on, but why would that ever happen. Blah blah stupid antics.

[rainfall]

Not like Fourier could use the self-esteem boost or anything, right game?

[sincere]

Malik and Hubert are chilling in Strahta. Malik is Fendel's new ambassador. They agree that Pascal solved all the problems of motherfucking Fendel with her incredible genius.

Boring, nothing interesting or personal happens.

[sincere]

Sophie and Asbel are in the flower garden and Asbel is LATE. :|

She's very protective of her flowers. They're waiting to see those blossomgales bloom... She wants to go all over the world and plant. She wonders if she'll ever grow up, and Asbel promises her she will.

Approximately 9000x more shippy than any Asbel/Cheria scene

[rainfall]

True fact.

[sincere]

Anime sequence of the sopherias start fading, and then they all dissolve and shimmer away, to scatter... all across the world maybe!

And then credits roll.

[rainfall]

I don't think I want the extra content. I think I'm much happier with the game ending here, where none of our idiots are actually married, despite the current pan of stupid moments from the game in scribbly color images that are so much less cute than ToV's monochrome credits.

[sincere]

After the credits, there's a little anime sequence of a much older Sophie (obviously) in a white dress playing in the field of flowers with a tiny red-headed brown-eyed child who is probably supposed to be an Asbel/Cheria child. She tells him that once there was a boy who found a lost seed and planted it and cared for it, and that seed grew up to protect everyone and eventually became a star and all that good stuff.

Our favorite star of all...

And we pan in on the tree, with Asbel and Richard and Sophie's names, now with a little added scrawled "Lambda" beneath them.

[sincere]

And I choose to believe that child is Asbel and Richard's.

[sincere]

I WON I WON I WON

I BEAT ANOTHER GAME

IIIII AM THE CHAMPION

etc

[meimi]

WTG! *cheers and throws confetti* Congrat for getting through the brain drain of Graces. The romance shit was so terrible and Pascal as the stereotypical geek guy was just... weird for the most part. I really loved the combat though, first time I ever enjoyed playing the hardest difficulty in a Tales game.