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theoakleafpancake · 2 years

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So apparently, 13 hours results in this? (It’s supposed to her her s4 design but I really did not wanna draw a bun 🙃

#the dragon prince #tdp #tdp s4 #the dragon prince season 4 #callum tdp #tdp rayla #the dragon prince fan art #sylvar’s art #rayllum #my art

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howliteart · 7 months

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After doing the Fantasy AU for mine and my partner's fursonas, it was only a matter of time before it led to a WoW AU 8D

Arakkoa Corbin was an obvious choice (with a K name since Arakkoa don't seem to use hard Cs), and Sylvar suits Capella much more than Draenei would. I had no idea Sylvar were so furry on their upper bodies until now! I love that. (And of course I made transmogs for them too.)

They're both some flavor of Druid! Capella would be Balance/Resto, Korbin Guardian. I was thinking of doing an owlbear for his main shift, so how kind of Blizz to literally just this patch toss those up on the PTR, like they read my mind 8D They're not native to Draenor, but he'd be learning shapeshifting from Azerothian druids, after arakkoan society gets shaken up, so a bird-bear would be a perfect blend of magics!

Capella is actually the Sylvar that's friends with Zielona, and who heals her up with all that anima! Once the green dragons discover the Ardenweald → Emerald Dream → Azeroth loophole, Zielona brings her over. In awe of all the cross-world choices open to her now, Capella opts to go explore Draenor (somewhere Zielona's never been, so she can tell her about it, and also TIME TRAVEL). That's where she meets Korbin \o/

I'll clean these up someday, maybe, lol.

#world of warcraft #warcraft #arakkoa #sylvar #night fae #refsheet #capella #corbin #corvuscapra #personal art #my characters #non furries

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likemesomesalads · 1 year

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Commission done for @midnightmako of their nmc character Nigella (blue) @legendaryskyscale 's character Vyranveld (red) and @notenoughplants 's character Vattenlas (purple)

It was a lot of fun to draw them, as a fellow nmc enjoyer myself.

Commissions open.

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #gw2 sylvar #gw2 commission #sylvari #nightmare court #my art

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pbjelly90art · 3 months

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Some different SWRPG practice and warm-up drawings I've done. The first four are some landscape and quick lighting practice, showing the forest village on Alderaan where the Sylvarants, Aurions, Asgards and other characters once lived.

Then after that, we have some gesture drawings to practice poses for Flanoir, Saburo, Astari, Leuda, and Kilandra. Hopefully Saburo's decent resolution, I couldn't find my colored version file on my cloud backups, just the pencil sketch scans, so I had to pull this from my old DA. Fingers crossed it displays okay.

#gesture drawings #landscape #original art #original character #oc art #swrpg #pokemon au #star wars au #alderaan #astari shadura #flanoir sylvarant #leuda verlissi #kilandra yanet #saburo takeda #jedi

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bkr-reon · 1 year

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Auboros doodles Part 4 (THE END OF IT and also the page of their first concept)

#destiny 2 #own character #own art #auboros #features Sylvar Kev and S8 #S8 is my partner's hunter #reposted from twitter

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tosrcountdown · 1 year

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🌠 3 Days Left! 🌠

We're starting off today with a collab art piece by @moldy-mold and @atsuko-tenshi featuring our main party from Symphonia! Though divided in the separate worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, they'll need to unite before time runs out. ⏳

#tales of symphonia #lloyd irving #colette brunel #genis sage #raine sage #tosr countdown #zelos wilder #sheena fujibayashi #presea combatir #regal bryant #martel yggdrasill #fanart #symphonia group #3 days left

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otherworldlygate · 1 year

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The Fascinating & Frustrating Experience of Writing AUs for Tales of Symphonia

You might have been wondering when I would type out some juicy meta for this blog instead of just reblogging art, so congratulations! Here.

Enjoy this "meta" about AU fics and concepts.

The truly fascinating/frustrating thing about designing any remotely serious AU within the ToS fandom at large is dealing with the fact that the characters in the game are heavily—and I mean HEAVILY—ingrained into the world. I’m not necessarily talking about Sylvarant and Tethe’alla, but rather their universe at large. Aselia as a whole has so much going on, and the cast is firmly rooted in it. We can’t even separate the history of the world from our cast, because despite being 4,000+ years in the making, we have 4,000-year-old characters thrust upon us.

The world of Aselia is a deeply interesting place, and there’s a lot to explore there. This is probably why in-universe fanfiction is so incredibly popular.

I’ve been in many fandoms over the years, and something I’ve noticed is that most of them have a pretty balanced ratio of canon to completely AU fics. That is decidedly not the case for ToS. While there are AUs, quite a few of those continue to explore within the canon world using the rules the canon has given: for example, a semi-popular idea is Tethe’alla as the declining world where Zelos is the current journeying Chosen. We also have a handful of canon divergent stories (what if X didn’t happen within the story/what if Y happened instead of X?). Lastly, there are a wide variety of fics that explore the world or timeline at large: there are stories about the original Hero Group, stories that poke around in the rich concept of the Balacruf Dynasty, fics that utilize the Otherworldly Gate in interesting ways, and even stories that detail the lives of other Chosen, like Spiritua.

I shouldn’t discount the difficulty that comes with writing these kinds of stories, especially large sweeping concepts that require a lot of thought. The best example of this is Declining!Tethe’alla. At a glance it sounds so incredibly simple: all right, so…Zelos is the journeying Chosen, then!

I mean, yes. But you have to consider everything that comes along with Tethe’alla as the declining world, not just the fact that Zelos is the one making the journey, now. For example, I think it’s especially important to imagine the kind of world Sylvarant might have become, if the Balacruf Dynasty had never lost its seat of power (or if it had, but to another military force). Copy-pasting Tethe’alla’s particular brand of “flourishing” into Sylvarant doesn’t work; you have to put more thought into it than that! Colette, as part of the mana lineage in Sylvarant, would always remain there. But the Ranches would be in Tethe’alla now, so Anna wold have been there, and Lloyd should be, too.

Would Sylvarant send a team to Tethe’alla (via Yuan) to assassinate Zelos? Would Raine and Genis have gone through the Gate if they lived in the declining world, and if they didn’t, what kind of place would Sybak be in an impoverished world? Would they even be forced to go there? Would Presea have been experimented on? Would Alicia have followed after by circumstance? Would Alicia and Regal have even met when competition to work for a rich family would be so intense in the first place? (Would the Lezareno Company even still exist at this point? Would Regal’s father still be alive and heading the company? Would Regal have gone to prison?) Would you even place these characters in the declining world, or move them to the flourishing one?

Like, the easy road is just checking similar boxes to the canon to keep things familiar, but that isn’t always the right—or best—choice for a story. Like, if we’re here to read about Declining!Tethe’alla, I think most people are interested in how the world has been affected by that difference, as well as the characters within it, especially our main cast.

Even then, those considerations branch out: would Kate exist in this version of Tethe’alla? Would Corrine? Would Sheena’s fate be different or the same when it comes to Volt (would Mizuho be more cautious or desperate?). How are half-elves treated? What is the caste system like? What kind of village is Heimdall now, after 800 years of the world declining and everyone scraping by for mana? Is the king’s power tentative or is there even a king anymore? (Is he constantly in danger of being overthrown? How has this affected the way he rules and the laws he enacts? Does he have many children and wives to ensure the bloodline doesn’t end?)

Tethe’alla knows about Sylvarant in the canon, so with Sylvarant as the flourishing world, do they know about Tethe’alla? How widespread is this knowledge? Is the Otherworldly Gate even working in Tethe’alla when it’s declining? Is there perhaps a Gate to match it in Sylvarant that is working? Would Raine still be obsessed with history or language if she was not abandoned at a historical-looking site as a child? (What might their education look like in this world, if they even get one?)

Did Zelos’s father still die in the same manner, or did he die on his own Chosen journey? Would Zelos’s father have taken the role of Chosen more seriously if he’d grown up in the declining world, or would he have carried on with a lover anyway? What about Mylene? Knowing Zelos would die either way (trying to save the world or actually saving it) how would this affect Zelos’s relationship to his mother? Might she be able to love him? Would Seles even exist? Would Zelos want to save the world so that Seles would not have to?

Not every “Chosen” bothered going on the journey; many simply continued the lineage instead; what about a Declining!Tethe’alla story where that is Zelos’s responsibility and he does not have to journey, but will have to give up one of his own children to that fate?

This is just one semi-AU concept, and it even takes place within the canon world, so…we have the same magic system, expsheres, exbelua, familiar towns and cities, races, ranches, Desians vs. Renegades, summon spirits, seals, Chosen Journey, and so on.

It wouldn’t be difficult to flip the script if the characters weren’t so ingrained into the world, which, to be perfectly clear, here, IS A GOOD THING! It means the worldbuilding was well done.

Let’s talk about Presea for a second. She’s a great character, but a lot of what makes her interesting hinges on her backstory, which is firmly rooted in Aselia. If you popped her into a modern day AU, there’s no really effective way to build a story around her that works to the degree the canon one does: her backstory of being poor, experimented on, losing 16 years of time, finding out her sister died horribly and partially because of her, finding out her she’d been hanging around with her father’s corpse for a long time without realizing it, dealing with the fact that her emotions have been severely suppressed…and a multitude of other things, is…baked so far into the ToS canon that it’s hard to find anything that works in a similar way and doesn’t feel icky or insensitive.

Like, for all intents and purposes, canon!Presea is 12 years old. Her body should be 28 years old, but it’s not. Her mind should be 28 years old, but it’s not. She remained “frozen” at the age of 12 for 16 years and she logically knows it, but wasn’t mentally present for it. That’s a huge character bit. It’s integral to her story. It’s hard to just…throw that away and carry on in a modern AU where she’s sipping Starbucks and texting Colette dog memes.

When it comes to characters like Regal or Sheena, who canonically carry a lot of guilt on their shoulders, this issue is still quite difficult. I like to imagine with characters like this, their primary character traits are not the guilt they feel, but rather, the capacity for feeling emotion that deeply in the first place. Sheena is canonically a very emotional person, so this fits her easily, and Regal comes off a lot like an empath to me, so it works for him, too. Sheena’s story is about failure (and overcoming that failure); the failure doesn’t have to be “making a pact with Volt” in an AU. In fact, I’d argue that the game never really settled the score with Sheena’s issues regarding Volt in a satisfactory way in the first place, so in an AU there’s no real need to explore the guilt if you can’t find a place to put it where it actually works. (I also take some issue with the “solution” of the guilt surrounding Volt to be…more guilt. Yikes.) Far more integral to Sheena’s character is the depth of her emotions anyway, and her desire to make friends and form meaningful connections to people (even though she struggles with it). Obviously her situation with Volt did affect her, and deeply so, but since the game tied it up so poorly it doesn’t feel like it’s cheating to largely ignore it in some AU circumstances.

In the case of Regal, I think many fans believe his primary character trait is “man who feels too much unreasonable guilt” but that belief is wrong. It’s not that his story has nothing to do with guilt, but I think at its core it’s about compassion and empathy. I wish the game had gone a bit more into Regal and his family’s history, particularly his relationship to his parents, because the only information we get about them is from the drama CD (where his father functions as his foil: an unempathetic scumbag who does not care about the health or well-being of his employees). When Regal inherits the position of a CEO and eventually the title of President, he struggles with the policies his father put into place that actively harm his employees and the rules he was raised under that don’t allow him to have any time for himself (no friends, no fun, everything must always revolve around working). It’s very clear he’s miserable living like this. The drama CD has its issues, of course, but I do like how it goes into the boring way Regal meets Alicia, and how long it takes him to even realize he doesn’t know her name, which, in the drama CD, is an extremely important part of Regal’s initial character arc. Neither the game nor the CD make Regal and Alicia’s relationship about love changing someone: rather, Alicia says something that weighs on Regal’s heart (“I don’t expect you to know my name; you employee hundreds of people.”) and he realizes he doesn’t have to be like his father and so chooses to be different. He was always a compassionate and empathetic person, but he gives himself permission to take control of his own life and do things his own way. He starts pushing for employee safety and making an effort to appreciate and protect the people who work for him. He doesn’t do this just for Alicia—he does this for himself.

Obviously he falls in love with Alicia in time and then struggles with the guilt he feels over being forced to take her life, but part of what makes this interesting is the timing of it. He’s only recently taken control of his own life, and was then forced into doing something that felt out of his control. He’s supposed to be protecting his employees, not hurting them. He’s supposed to protect the people he loves, too, not hurt them. This is the core of the guilt he feels.

Anyway, while guilt does play a role in Regal’s life, it doesn’t define him; what does is his capacity to feel compassion and empathy for others. He’s a good businessman, and he’s smart, but he makes a very real effort to think for himself and do things his own way for his own reasons. This is explored a bit in the game when he does things like passlock the Toize Valley Mine, admit that his family’s wealth was had on the backs of Sylvaranti humans, and per his ending, funnel resources into rebuilding Palmacosta despite it getting him side-eyed by people within his own company. I think it cannot be overstated, either, how important it is that he is neither racist nor classist, despite his upbringing. This is the way he chooses to be.

Presea, on the other hand, is harder to work with. She doesn’t have a lengthy and rich history before her time was frozen for her, so her character feels very reliant on “being 12, but knowing she should be older and all the trauma that goes with that.” That said, I think one could explore Presea in an AU in the context of feeling like she was out of the loop for some years with her sister. It’s not the same as losing 16 years of life, and it’s not the same as realizing Alicia’s been dead for the last 8 years or seeing her father’s still-reeking corpse in his bed. But there is a similar “vibe” to, for example, her being separated from her sister for years and losing a connection she once felt to someone dear to her.

That said, this mostly just proves my point: most of the characters in this game are extremely hard to separate from the world they were written into. It means great things about Tales of Symphonia, but bad things for me, a person trying to write an AU.

Like sure, you an come up with ways to kind of “copy/paste” the traumas of the canon into a modern story; for example, instead of Regal and Kratos killing someone, maybe they’re driving the car when they’re involved in an accident that ends up taking the life of their loved one. In Kratos’s case, maybe it was an accident where a drunk driver hit them, to help spread the blame; Kratos’s guilt could come from being out on a night when drunk driving rates are notoriously high—for example, New Year’s Eve. But in Regal’s case, there’s just no real way to seriously mimic the canon while still remaining true to his character. The point of his guilt in the canon is that it’s not completely misplaced: it’s just taken to an extreme. If he goes to prison in a modern story for being behind the wheel of a car when one of his passengers dies, he has to actually be found at fault: under the influence of drugs or alcohol, neglectful in caring for the car to a serious degree, driving without a license/insurance, or failing to wear glasses/contacts when he needs them. However, doing this goes against his character because the point of the canon is that even though he feels guilty, he isn’t actually to blame.

Colette can be born with expectations of her (becoming the first doctor in the family, for example) but it’s impossible to carry forward the Chosen traumas without making an AU feel convoluted. Like yeah, med school and residency require a lot of sacrifice, but it’s not the same as ACTUALLY GIVING UP YOUR LIFE TO SAVE THE WORLD. The burden feels different and will affect the characters in different ways.

Anyway, all of this is not to say that I have anything against AUs, or that I think it’s bad that Tales of Symphonia works so hard to root the characters within the world of Aselia. It’s the opposite, actually. I think it’s fascinating how much work has to go into an AU of any kind in this fandom for it to feel natural for the characters. I love that the cast feels so “at home” in their own world that it’s reflected in the kinds of fics we see published on AO3.

It’s just hilariously frustrating that, if you want to include the entire cast in an AU, and not just the blorbo or two that you really love, you have to bend over backward to worldbuild a ton before you begin to write, lest you end up writing yourself into a corner… Or worse, you might shoehorn a character into a role because you need the role filled, even though it doesn’t work very well for the character in question.

Like, Zelos feels as if he’d be easy to transplant into a modern AU of any kind, and I would say he definitely is…but only if he remains on the fringes of the story and doesn’t play a major role. If he needs to matter to the story to any serious degree, you can’t ignore the fact that canon Zelos has so much going on in his life and world and head that taking only the easy parts of him into an AU doesn’t feel right.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of copy/pasting one big trait of a character into an AU to try to make it work, but what ends up happening is the whole thing feels flat and boring. A guilt-soaked Regal in a modern AU isn’t very interesting, for example; the guilt isn’t the trait that makes him feel whole: it’s his capacity for compassion and empathy despite his privileged position in society that does that.

I’ve toyed with a few AU ideas for Tales of Symphonia, and honestly just looking at the sheer amount of worldbuilding I would have to do is instantly overwhelming. The current one I’m turning over is a modern Aselia AU, so I can’t even come up with “similar” vibes from the canon or it instantly reads as if the characters are just on some kind of tragic hamster wheel, doomed to repeat the same mistakes of the past.

It was during my quest for world and character backstory-building for this AU that I realized the heart of what matters to me in any AU is not that the characters feel like a copy/paste of their canon selves, but like a believable version of their original self: one built not on the circumstances of their birth or life experiences from the canon, but rather, character traits they hold that feel ‘core’ to me. Lloyd and Colette’s optimism and trust, Regal’s empathy and compassion, Sheena’s emotional depth and search for connection, and Presea’s desire to be treated normally are all examples.

Still, it can be hard to apply these in a meaningful way when crafting a character’s backstory, especially in AUs that differ drastically from the canon, either due to a completely different setting (mermaid!AU), metaphor for something (werewolf!AU), or tableflip (Declining!Tethe’alla). If the setting is modern and we’re more concerned with core character traits and not putting them in Situations Similar to the Canon, does Alicia still need to die? Does Virginia have to abandon her children? Can Kate’s father just be a regular scumbag? Does Presea need to be deeply traumatized? Do so many parents have to be dead? Marble? Does Colette have to suffer so much? Can we allow the characters to live happier lives and still manage to write them in such a way that they feel naturally like themselves? Can we give them worse fates and still come out of it having written the characters well?

Things to think about!

#tales of symphonia #tales of symphonia meta #also huge thankyou to feluka for releasing the unhyphenated url for me!! ty ty #fanfiction

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darkhymns-fic · 1 year

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Resemblance

“Are you worried about Lloyd?” Colette asked, her voice a soft reminder.

During a rainy day in Asgard, Kratos takes up cooking for the party. Colette notices quite a few things.

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters/Pairing: Colette Brunel, Kratos Aurion, Lloyd Irving Rating: G Word Count: 2747 Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: I couldn’t get the image of Kratos making seafood stew out of my head and this was the result. May or may not be a dad reveal.

It rained quite often in Asgard, Kratos noticed. The city was built on hills and uneven land, and the caverns full of archaic paintings and carvings were nestled within the mountains. Along with the wind that the city was famous for also came rainfalls and thunderstorms. On its worst days, there was even danger of flooding, with many people who lived on the lower levels having to seek higher ground.

But today, it was a semi-gentle rain, the start of a summer shower that could ruin a sunhat or soak through a bedroll that wasn’t set up underneath some cover. Kratos spared a glance through the inn’s kitchen window as he watched the raindrops fall onto the stone stairs, on the half-broken walkways above, on the fallen pillars that the villagers simply walked around. The moss growing and re-growing on it was already several decades old, the rain making it glisten in what little sunlight could peek through the clouds.

He heard the kitchen door swinging open, followed by the sound of unsteady footsteps.

“Mr. Kratos, I got the pot cleaned out!” Colette was holding the gigantic iron cookware in her arms as it hid the lower half of her face. Kratos could only see a pair of blue eyes peek out over the rim, topped with brilliant yellow hair. Such a sight vanished when she predictably tripped.

It was routine at this point in the journey. Their travels consistently took them over rugged terrain, through the rapidly changing weather that foretold the decline of the world. Kratos tugged the pot away from Colette while grasping her shoulder to keep her standing. “Thank you, but it is fine to ask for help, Chosen.”

“Ah, right. I’m sorry.” Colette laughed away the stumble, even as a flush rose to her cheeks. “I’m just excited to try your cooking. What is it you’ll be making again?”

“Seafood stew. It’s a very basic recipe.” Kratos placed the pot atop the wood stove, while Colette went to retrieve some of the pre-filleted fish that had been placed within an icebox. “Though the ingredients would be easier to acquire back in Palmacosta.”

He already reached for the fish Colette handed to him—the tuna, specifically—to season with the pepper. She then dutifully stood nearby, seeming so fascinated by his actions that it made Kratos a little self-conscious.

“The meal shouldn’t take too long.”

“Oh, I know! Sorry, is it weird to stay in here?” Her tone held that same politeness when they had first met back at Iselia’s temple, but now with a familiarity to it. He supposed that was only natural after months of traveling together, and with her proper nature already easing once Lloyd and Genis joined the group. “I wanted to see how different this is from Dirk’s stew.”

His hands paused just momentarily, in mid-cut of the fish’s meat, before they resumed their task. “I must say I am not familiar with the culinary arts of dwarves. It truly must be unique.”

“It’s the only meal I know that has all sorts of pretty gems inside the food!” Colette just supplied the information with no question at all, and certainly did not see Kratos raise an eyebrow at the words. “Lloyd’s tried cooking it himself, but he can’t always find the right gems, and just plain rocks don’t work as well. But he still makes it really tasty.”

Do children in Iselia regularly eat meals like this? Kratos instantly wondered in slight horror. Perhaps it was because he had not been in Sylvarant for over a decade, so it could very well have become a custom now… He cleared his throat, already imagining a gem stuck in his throat and feeling uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry to say that I don’t have a taste for that personally. I prefer fish.”

He gave no thought to what he said, but the giggle that followed was light. “Hehe, is that why you know this recipe?”

Kratos poured a few tablespoons of olive oil into the pot, the fire already heating it up. “It’s an old recipe from Luin that I learned many years back.” He could still recall the sizzle of the vegetables in the early evening, the scent of the grass as he and another would lay out blankets on the ground so that they could eat peacefully, the weight of the bundle in her arms as she shushed it to sleep.

The nostalgia that suffused his thoughts was sudden. He paused again, then reached for the red snapper to also season thoroughly.

“I haven’t cooked this meal in many years, so I may be a bit rusty.”

And yet, he had wanted to cook it again, after all this time.

Colette was still by his side, hands clasped behind her, eyes intent. The rain continued to patter against the windowsill. It was the sort of sound Kratos would unconsciously sharpen his hearing for with his Exsphere. The soft, repeating thumps against those age-old pillars, sinking into the moss, or trickling down the stone’s face to fall to the earth beneath.

“Are you worried about Lloyd?” Colette asked, her voice a soft reminder.

He sighed to cover up the surprise he felt. “I’m mostly worried that he is taking a while to get back with the vegetables. I’ll be unable to cook this meal as intended otherwise.” He needed the onions to give the meal any decent flavor, the radishes and carrots to make it more filling and give the stew its brothy texture. But he hadn’t given much thought that the rain would make Asgard’s uneven terrain a bit more treacherous to walk over. It was likely the stone walkways that led up to the grocers was now slick with the water as well, and Lloyd did tend to be careless…

Colette gently tapped his shoulder, once again taking him out of his thoughts. “Chosen?”

“You know, Mr. Kratos, it’s okay to say you’re worried about him.” She smiled again, looking out the window as well, at the high cliffs where the windmills blew with the force of the small storm. “I think he’d be happy to hear that.”

Leave it to the Chosen, to Colette, to render him speechless. Kratos cleared his throat, gathering some of the water for the pot within a wooden cup. “I would only hope he’s not distracted from his task.”

Still, was it that obvious?

Colette had an astuteness about her that he couldn’t fail to notice. Even after awakening the first seal, she had kept firm to her role, utilizing her angelic abilities with quick skill, most likely from years of studying the texts from Cruxis. And even now, she showed her interest in a meal he was making that she had no way of tasting at all.

So far, no one else in their group had caught onto her lie. But Kratos continued to prepare the meal, mincing the garlic to fry at the bottom of the pot. The urge to apologize to her for not thinking to cook earlier in the journey nearly left his tongue. It would have been useless to say, would have brought up too many complications. Even if he was quite sure that the Chosen suspected he was more than a wandering mercenary who had appeared at just the right time.

She was certainly different from the last one he had accompanied. And the one before that, and the one before. But, the quiet air Colette sometimes had around her echoed all of the past Chosen in many ways.

He pushed the memories aside. Useless to think of them again.

“Do you also know how to cook pescatore?” Colette asked, her eyes still so curious. “My father used to make it a lot but with flounder.”

Another unexpected question from her, but Kratos was more prepared for it this time. “I don’t tend to like the sauce used for it, so I never really learned it.”

“Oh? You mean the tomato sauce?”

“Yes.”

And, perhaps, that wasn’t what he should have mentioned at all, because he saw a light within Colette’s eyes that had always been flickering. Now they brightened, like the stars shining through a veil of clouds.

“So just like—”

By then, the kitchen door burst open with the force of a hurricane, rain spilling inside and already drenching the carpet that had been laid out on the floor. The sound was so loud that Kratos nearly dropped his knife in the middle of chopping.

Kratos had been so focused on the rain that he hadn’t heard Lloyd himself until it was too late, his head already ringing from the boy’s very, very loud voice.

“I’m here! I got the other vegetables! They’re kinda soaked though!” Lloyd was panting, the paper bag he carried completely drenched, threatening to let the items inside break through and fall. “Ugh, I’m soaked now…”

Kratos noted how Lloyd tended to exaggerate some things, but he truly was drenched from head to toe. The odd white ribbons that trailed from his collar were heavy with moisture, along with his boots. His red jacket hung from his shoulders, as if now twice its usual size.

It was almost déjà vu for Lloyd to walk forward and also nearly trip, but it was Colette who saved him and the falling burden he carried. She quickly placed the paper bag full of vegetables on the counter, then turned back to face Lloyd, hands placed over Lloyd’s shoulders.

But Kratos saw the soft smile lift her lips, the joy leaving her voice. “Oh, your hair!”

A groan left the boy. “Don’t remind me. This is why I hate the rain.”

“Aw, but it looks so cute on you.”

Lloyd shook his head like a wet dog, making Colette laugh then. Usually spiked up, his hair now fell over the front of his face, effectively covering his eyes. He pushed aside one part of it to look at Colette and Kratos with at least half of his gaze. “It’s not that cute if I can’t see… It made walking around way more of a hassle.”

Questions hovered on Kratos’ tongue, such as why did Lloyd simply not wait for the rain to pass, or could he not just tie back his hair? But in the end, he was the reason Lloyd had even gone outside in the first place—and he was grateful for any kindness Lloyd afforded him.

“I trust you’re not hurt then,” he said. His tone came off flat without any intention.

Lloyd raised his head to Kratos—or in the general direction of him, still trying to see through the sheet of wet hair. “Uh, yeah! I’m fine. Sorry I was late. But I got double the ingredients, just in case!” Lloyd nodded in pride, while somehow getting even more hair over his face, instantly making him frown again.

Colette helped by pushing his hair back, but not too much. She kept a few strands hanging down, her grin stretched wide.

Well, she enjoys this, Kratos thought, already used to the pair’s affection.

“I simply needed the regular amount, but thank you, Lloyd.” It certainly was a lot of vegetables when Kratos checked the bag, but they were indeed all there. He took out one of the onions first, proceeding to peel off the outer skin. “I apologize for sending you out in such rough weather.”

“It’s fine, it’s not that bad,” Lloyd said, oblivious to the fact that he had been complaining loudly about it not even five minutes ago. “But since you’re cooking for once, I wanted to make sure we had everything we need!” He shook his hair out again, the water sputtering the fire within the wood stove.

“…Maybe you should dry up before dinner,” Kratos helpfully advised, trying to shield the cooking pot from more of Lloyd’s shakes.

“Agh, I know! Sorry.”

“I think we have a towel here,” Colette said as she searched the kitchen’s pantry and found one of the soft fabrics nearby. She quickly draped it over Lloyd’s head, hands pressed against it as she helped him dry. “It’s like drying a puppy!”

Perhaps for the first time, Kratos saw such bright red completely fill up Lloyd’s face. He typically didn’t get embarrassed with Colette, but perhaps with the rain and with Kratos being witness to them both, he was a little more self-aware. “Colette, come on…”

“Hm? Is there something wrong with what I said?”

“Not really, but you know… I’m older than a puppy!”

That brought another smile to the Chosen, but as she continued to dry Lloyd’s hair, she paused. She stared right into the boy’s face, all while Kratos let the onions sizzle and then went to chop the carrots next.

In the heated kitchen, with the crackling fire and Lloyd’s clothes still dripping rainwater to the floor, he stuttered, “W-What is it?”

“…You look similar.”

It was the way she said it that made Kratos turn, that made him look at Lloyd as well. Brown hair still fell over Lloyd’s forehead, drier now. But with the pale sunlight that streamed in through the window, it colored his hair into something brighter, his fringe slightly pointed, slightly unkempt.

Kratos, to his shame, had not recognized his son until he had heard Lloyd’s name being spoken aloud, and continued to doubt until he faced that grave out in the wilderness. But now, as Lloyd blinked at Colette, his hair looking much longer now, falling against his cheek, Kratos could also find that resemblance.

Colette quickly looked over at Kratos, then back to Lloyd, a light shining in her eyes.

The Chosen had always been astute.

“Similar to what?” Lloyd asked her, left out of a secret he had no idea even existed. “Are you going to tell me I look like another dog you found?”

Colette was still drying his hair, slower and more focused. Her right hand shifted to move the fringe away from his face. “Hm, would it be bad if I said yes?”

“Well, it beats looking like a turtle when I sleep.”

“You could be both,” Colette teased. She now draped the towel over Lloyd’s eyes, giggling at his whines. “Now I need to put you and the doggy side by side to compare.”

“Then he must be a cool-looking dog!” Lloyd countered. And soon, there was his own grin and laughter, because no matter how out there Colette’s conversation topics were, Lloyd would gladly follow along.

Kratos felt a bit more at ease then, but still wondered at Colette’s thoughtful gaze. Maybe it had just been his imagination. It was certainly no secret that Colette adored dogs and befriended every stray they met in the cities they passed through.

She couldn’t possibly know for certain, Kratos mused as he threw the sliced carrots into the pot, along with the fish so that everything could boil. That is, unless she was just hiding the fact…

…And if so, was she also calling Kratos a dog then with her comparison?

“Hey, that smells good!” Lloyd called out, leaning over to check on the simmering stew that was packed with fish, vegetables, and spices. His hair was now a little frizzy from all of Colette’s drying. “It’s not beef, but fish is like my second favorite!”

“You should eat other foods besides red meat for a good balance of nutrients,” Kratos found himself saying. “I’ll make sure your bowl has enough vegetables, since you brought us extra.”

“…I give you a compliment and you tell me that?”

Colette reached to take Lloyd’s hand, pulling him towards the kitchen door. “We should tell the others about dinner and let Kratos finish cooking. Also, your clothes are still really wet!”

Lloyd didn’t argue, except with another whine about his wet jacket and how damp it felt. Still, just before they left through the door, Colette looked back to Kratos, then said to Lloyd, “At least with Mr. Kratos’ cooking, you won’t ever have to worry about eating tomatoes.”

“Huh?” Lloyd’s confusion was so stark, even as he was led by her hands that held tight to his loose sleeves. “Wait, does he not like tomatoes either?”

Lloyd tried to turn back to look, but the door shut by then. Both of their voices faded as they went further into the inn.

Kratos topped the stew pot with the lid, then let out a great sigh.

Colette Brunel was very astute indeed.

#tales of symphonia #colette brunel #kratos aurion #lloyd irving #fanfiction #one shot

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likes-words-and-shrimp · 2 years

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Just domestic thoughts about Lloyd working hard on fruit recipes for Colette once she gets her senses back. Memorizing the intricacies of fruit salad from Genis, learning to slice an apple just so until it resembles a dog, and gaining more of a sweet tooth after it all.

Because Sylvarant was waning in mana, growing crops was most likely a struggle, including fruit trees that could have been cut down by Desians as they built their ranches. Finding an apple tree before or during the journey was rare, so Lloyd makes sure they stop at one for a while. He would climb up their branches and get the reddest one for Colette - he remembered once how she told him she liked the brightest apples, since it was the same color as that of his clothes.

Fruit in the land of Sylvarant were almost like a delicacy because of how temperamental some types can be. They can also rot so easily if not taken care of well - so Lloyd learns to preserve them, maybe even grows a few fruit trees in Dirk's yard after the journey, despite how long they take to grow. The mana has returned, but slowly, and things always takes time to grow. He makes sure to show Colette these sprouts, the way they resembled the newly named tree they had both visited not too long ago.

This is a lot to just say that Lloyd would make special fruit bowls for Colette as often as he can. At first they'd be haphazard-looking before he got the idea for presentation. He eventually starts making his own unique creations that taste so sweet, whether on the road with Colette, or back at home in Iselia when they rest from their journey and see the trees gaining a few more inches, with fruits starting to appear.

And yet, Colette's favorite dish from Lloyd is still the apple-art he makes for her...it's a shame to eat something so beautiful.

#tales of symphonia #colette brunel #lloyd irving #colloyd #had this on twitter and putting it here so i can more easily find it #I think Lloyd would always make sure Colette gets a good meal #mine #headcanon

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warlordess · 1 year

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(hi!! i would assume Colette was like, the 7th chosen since the last successful Sylvarant regeneration?? that would make sense bc i thiiiink the game tells you Sylvarant hasn't been regenerated in /a while/ but don't take my word for it uuuhh)

That could make sense despite the game not doing a very good job of actually saying THAT. If she were the 7th Chosen since the last successful regeneration (the post said that was about 800 years previous, I believe) then the game dialogue should have specified that point.

However, I believe the post I reblogged with that question/those tags had a lot of extra info and it also didn't specify that to my knowledge. It verified both that Colette is the 7th Chosen and yet also that the Chosen lineage spawned a new Chosen, like, every other generation. For instance, Colette's grandmother, Phaidra, had a sister that was also a Chosen. Also the art on that post depicted the seven Chosen of Sylvarant and one of them was Spiritua, who we know was successful in her journey since we're able to use her record in the game to assist in finding the seals.

The post did say at some point that some Chosen are never actually active in their world regeneration role (for instance, if they're born in the flourishing world; perhaps also if their mana signature doesn't match Martel's well enough to consider them a proper vessel for her... The post didn't say as much on that second point but they did say there was at least one Chosen that Cruxis just let go through the motions of their journey without really caring about their fate because their mana signature was meh and the next Chosen's was expected to be a much better match to Martel's).

My thought is perhaps a Chosen doesn't actually get to be counted as such if they don't have to go on the journey of regeneration? So all these interim Chosen born who never have to fulfill their purpose get left out of the total sum and that number ends up lower. However if the system has been in place for thousands of years (since we know Cruxis has existed for about 4000), seven is still too low a number imo. Even if the system wasn't initiated for the first 1000 years because the four seraphim wanted to work out the kinks before putting it in place (which I don't even buy)... If Chosen are being born every other generation, if they're dying on the path or else failing to carry Martel's soul... It just doesn't make sense.

The post also brought up about the floating caskets in the Tower of Salvation, saying these were specifically to hold the bodies of the Chosen that couldn't host Martel's soul. There appeared to be hundreds, maybe more, when we visit this location in-game. So do only seven caskets (six, technically, since Colette is still alive) amount for Sylvarant's contribution and the rest are from Tethe`alla? That ratio merits an explanation! Lol.

I dunno, perhaps this tidbit of trivia will never make sense to me.

#Tales of symphonia #Colette Brunel #Chosen system #Asks #Anon #I typed up my entire response on mobile so here's hoping the errors are minimal

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theoakleafpancake · 1 year

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Someone here said dark haired Alyss and tbh I’m here for it

#ranger’s apprentice #john flanagan #alyss mainwaring #dark haired alyss #sylvar’s art #ra fanart #my art

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pbjelly90art · 3 months

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SWRPG pencil sketch art dump!

Here's a lot of my past scanned pencil sketches I was able to round up, but never got around to coloring.

In order we have: various sketches of Astari at different ages and times in her life, then the next row we have a sketch of younger (RP 1) Kenneth where I was working on refining his design, then some sketches of different duos with Flanoir/Kenneth and Leuda with her honorary brother Nathan, then two sketches of Flanoir sleeping at different points in her life because why not lol, then some Saburo-centric sketches on the next row, followed by some with Luin and family and a sketch of Zygarde appearing during RP 2. After that, we have some sketches covering various scenes either during or before RP 2, some with legendary encounters. Following that, there's some sketches of Leuda, a What If AU type sketch of Leuda if she had joined the Scorpion Clan and trained as one of their assassins, some sketches of Nathan, Astari, and Flanoir, S'oo and Kenneth together, then Flanoir with Leuda and Tropius on Tanabata, and Linar. And then finally, some fun chibis including a group shot for the last one, phew!

I've listed before which characters belong to my friends in another post, so I won't repeat that again here, but several of these characters belong to backdraft, kiohl, kaeli, Malion, phantomness, etc. as well as myself.