I think too much about a certain absurdity named Asch.

I'm loving Tales of the Abyss. *swoon*

I don't know why Tales of the Abyss (TotA) never fails to put my thoughts into an overdrive. Could it be the sheer thought of flaming red hot Asch?? Or the absurdly fantastic storyline which can be THIS thought provoking?? Or is Luke's annoying stature getting to me??

I really miss the gameplay! Loved its fantastic, easy-to-control, simple yet fun battle system.

Whatever it is, APEK, if you're reading this and are in search of a RPG with a fantastic storyline to play, DO PLAY IT!!! ( On another note, I tried to kill Vayne at lvl 45 (highest character) and pretty much died out like a squished rat. XD Thanks to the Undying. I was so close!! Grrr!!! I'll train up. BWAHAHAHAHA)

Anyway, this whole mad post contains HUGE spoilers (as always) for the whole TotA storyline (anime/game), so do NOT read if you intend to keep the story uh, pure and untainted. Ahahaha.

Here goes nothing...

Okay, all of this madness of mine resurfaced the instant I started watching TotA the anime these few days. I am surprised and PLEASED that they added fillers in on Asch's past!!! Gahahaha from my previous blog layouts and endless Asch tirades in the past, I know you all get what I mean. I'm Asch obsessed!! And I'm proud to say my love for Asch has reignited!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Despite constantly comparing between Asch and Luke (with Asch being the BETTER one of course) I suddenly have this ridiculous observation that they are barely very different at all. And here goes my nonsensical motion of thoughts...

Luke and Asch: bounded together by their unfathomable destiny?

After events at Akzeriuth, remember how Luke's fon slots synchronised with Asch's since they're perfect isofons? And Luke could see and experience whatever Asch was seeing? Initially when I played the game, I always thought Asch was the more matured one. But after INSPECTING Asch in the anime... my darling Asch can be pretty childish at times.

Asch says he forgives Jade (oh, Jade~!! Jade the Necromancer! Jade the Father of Fomicry! Jade the sarcastic!! Jade the 'yeng'!!! *nosebleeds*) for he says that the past cannot be reversed.

Jade Curtiss: Father of Fomicry

Yet, Asch holds the STRONGEST grudge against replicas for his past that he has lost to Luke!! What irony. Asch saya that one should not hold on to the past becasue it changes nothing, but yet, he's betraying Van just because of the 'replica world' Van had intended! Pure irony.

Vandesdelca Grants: Asch's happiness-wrecker.

Like I said in an earlier post on TotA... Van's recreation of Hod, the destruction and the resurrection of Auldrant - it would all have been successful if he had connected better with Asch to establish an understanding on his masterplan. Van would have succeeded if not for Asch's intervention... since Luke and his team are all pretty slow on picking up things (and now I noticed, among the slowest to pick up would be Fon Master Ion... who's not even real. Uh...? Anyway, who goes around demanding Fon Masters to open Daathic seals on Sephiroths for no particular intention??!!)

Fon Master Ion (best replica)
...still gonna ask me why I think he's slowest to pick up on things...? XD

Asch really had a harsh past, and Van should have realised that above all his masterplans. Or... maybe Van had been too adventurous with his plans, that in the end... he forgot even to consider human feelings? I don't remember Asch having any flashbacks when he was a kid when I played it on the game. But when I watched the anime, there was a little dream Asch had (after the Ortion Cavern event while Luke was still unconscious in Yulia City) and it got my tear glands activated.



.... WATCHING IT ALMOST MADE ME CRY!!!! (Oh, Asch!!)



BWAHAHAHAHA, yeah, I'm THAT emotional when it comes to non-existent things.

Anyway, in that filler, Asch dreamt of how he suffered the moment his life began. His royal birth, his future in the Score, the roles he would play in bringing forth peace to Kimlasca - IT WAS ALL PREDETERMINED! The burden itself, of carrying the name, "Luke" was so immense that his future was tied down the instant his Score was read. Kidnapped by Van, he was left tortured in fonic devices just to extract his powers that were so-called "needed to preserve the world". The pain in which he felt as he was locked in a cell, because of his predetermined "fate" caused him to flee from Van's custody as he searched for the place he called home. After ardously fighting for his life to return to Baticul - all he received was a shove from his OWN house guards!! He was shun away from his own home BECAUSE of a mere non-existent being, a replica, who replaced him; STOLE his family, his future, his love!!

.... I cried like nuts.

I was so taken aback by Asch's suffering, and I blame it on Van.

Why was Asch replicated in the first place? Van could have very well used Asch; knowing Asch's naivety, he would have given Van his consent. Why was there the need for replica Luke? And if Van had to replicate Asch, let's say to preserve his power, why put Luke back in Baticul? Why let the wheels of the Score to determine Luke's fate?? After all, Van's plan was to slide off from the hinges of the Score!!

It was unacceptable for him to let Asch shoulder all the misery, the pain, and the rejection.

Why hadn't Van realised that creating a replica world to escape the Score gives birth to nothing but a whole bunch of er... mere replicas? Replicas don't think for themselves; they are devoid of emotion and wisdom. They are just vessels that possess proportions of fonons and matter in equilibrium to its human counterpart. All in all, replicas have a limited lifespan! Should they die, all existense shall be wiped out!!!

....

(I have no idea why I'm getting so completely worked up over a game. XD)

If they wanted a world free from the Score, why not just stop Score reading? Score reading; after all, is the doing or the Order of Lorelei by the power of Seventh Fonists.... right? Or, why not destroy the Fonstones instead of keeping them around to lead people into a life shackled by the Score? I absolutely salute Van for he is a warrior in my eyes; a hero who defends his ideologies and furthermore, is brave enough to go full steam ahead with a seemingly impossible task. It's just that his methods are undeniably wrong.

However, after having said all that... I will never forget the pain he has inflicted upon my Asch. XP

What I love about the anime is that the graphics are almost similar to the game itself, and nothing much on the storyline has changed~

The kind of ending I would love for my darling Asch: that he'd be with Natalia.
UNFORTUNATELY, some IDIOT just HAD to die for an outrageously STUPID reason.

END OF SPOILER.

I'm glad that game playing has evolved so much that it has become so absolutely thought provoking. Or would I just summarise this utter nonsensical post as my scorching love for Asch?? BWAHAHAHAHA. I think I'll have more to say after completely finishing the anime. If given a new TotA disc, darlings, I would gladly play it all over again and complete every darn sidequest it has to offer. XD

*hearts* ~I'll never get sick of Asch~ *hearts*

Oooh. And once I finish off annoying Venat and the undying Vayne Solidor, you readers are gonna experience another whole hoard of spoilers and nonsensical ramblings from me. Happy reading!

Yours truly, G.O.T. XD