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ship_manifesto2005-10-05 11:23 pm
cosmo-queen.livejournal.com) wrote in ship_manifesto2005-10-05 11:23 pm
Entry tags:
A Moment of Kindness -- Fayt/Albel
Title :: A Moment of Kindness
Fandom :: Star Ocean – Till the End of Time
Ship :: AlFei (Albel/Fayt)
Author :: Lulu (shoutacon@aol.com)
Spoilers :: Just about the whole game.
Additional Notes :: Aah, I love this ship so much, I feel so honored to be able to write this for them! I really wanna thank the people over at the Fayt/Albel community for giving me their input (whether they intended to or not) about certain aspects of the pairing and such. And I reeeeeeeeally wanna thank my beta, May.
I recall one day mindlessly going through pictures when I suddenly stopped, taking in the beauty before me. To simply put it, I thought that this man was a bishounen; he had the most unique hairstyle and I marveled at the bizarre clothing style he bore. I had never seen a male character wear such a…revealing outfit, let alone a skirt before.
To be completely honest, Albel Nox was probably the only reason I got into the fandom at first.
Upon actually buying the game, I instantly fell in love with Fayt Leingod, the blue-haired, seemingly frail boy who was just noble to a fault. I didn’t forget about Albel however, and I loved the other characters as well, and by the time Albel did appear, I had decided then and there that I wanted to ship them together no matter what, if just for eye-candy purposes only.
At first, AlFei (Albel/Fayt) seemed a bit crack-ish; Albel was just too cynical and rude to people and Fayt seemed a little too goody-two-shoes for his taste. However, after the story progressed and they interacted more, it became quite clear to me that AlFei was no crack pairing. The relationship the two shared was quite unique and intriguing, to say the least, and I can only hope I am able to share with you what makes this relationship as interesting as it is.
STAR OCEAN 3
The game Star Ocean – Till the End of Time, a project by Square-Enix and TriAce, is a Playstation 2 game that takes place in the far future. It starts off on the planet Hyda IV where you meet Fayt Leingod and his friend Sophia, who are on vacation with Fayt’s parents, Dr. Robert and Ryoko Leingod. Their vacation is interrupted when the small planet is attacked by a group of ships belonging to the Vendeen Empire. This later on initiates a war with the Pangalactic Federation. During the evacuation of Hyda IV, Fayt is separated from Sophia and his parents and is forced to land on an underdeveloped planet called Vanguard III. After assisting the nearby village, he is rescued by a man named Cliff Fittir, who is part of the anti-federation group called Quark, which is when he learns that Cliff’s leader wishes to speak with him. Upon boarding his ship, they are attacked by the Vendeen once more and forced to crash-land on a planet called Elicoor II, where they are imprisoned. It’s then that they meet a woman named Nel Zelpher, who gives them two options : assist her country with their technology or die where they are. Naturally they chose the former. Soon afterwards the two are involved in a great war between the two kingdoms, which paves the way for the fight to save the universe.
FAYT LEINGOD
The main character of Star Ocean – Till the End of Time. At first, Fayt is a normal college student from Earth, but after the attack of Hyda IV, him and his family were vacationing at, he is soon thrust into an adventure that has the fate of the universe in the balance. Fayt’s personality is somewhat different from most video game’s leading males; he is what one could describe as a ‘goody-two-shoes’. He’s almost always willing to go out of his way to help others, set things right, and follow the rules whenever possible. He has a tendency to overreact to things and is sometimes melodramatic. Overall, however, he is an understanding person with a lot of determination when the situation calls for it.
ALBEL NOX
Albel, also known as Albel Nox the Wicked, is the captain of the Black Brigade, one of the three military forces of the Kingdom of Airyglyph, and one of the best swordsmen on Elicoor II. As a person, Albel is socially inept, often referring to his peers as ‘fools’, ‘maggots’, ‘worms’ and other lovely nicknames, and cannot help but look down on others. He has a deep-seeded hatred for himself and the way he treats people, and because of that, is very introverted and hardly ever speaks out in the group asides from the occasional sarcastic comment.
Their relationship is unique, to say the least. Albel sees Fayt as a rival and a trusted friend. He is obsessed, as Fayt puts it, with becoming stronger than him and is even willing to leave his home planet in order to do so. As much as he detests losing to Fayt, he bears no malice towards him. Despite the fact they were enemies previously, Albel sees Fayt as someone he can talk to and respects him greatly. Like with all his friends, Fayt cares about and respects as Albel as well, although the magnitude of that trust is quite high. During a scene at the inn in Peterny, Albel states that he could attack and kill Fayt during the time they were talking; they were alone outside and no one would be able to stop him. Fayt simply smiled and said that he trusted him. At the time, the two hadn’t even known each other for that long, and yet it’s Fayt who implies that he would trust the man with his life. One can also tell Fayt cares about his comrade, having apologized to him for beating him during their duel in the Urssa Lava Caves during the second half of the game. Fayt also seems to accept Albel’s faults and imperfections and respects him despite them, showing no desire to change the man; during the scene at Peterny, Fayt states that although he can’t relate to Albel’s intense desire to be stronger, he sees nothing wrong with it. The two are able to communicate openly with one another and can even relate to each other at times, such as the conversation they had after the night in Peterny as well as another time in Arkives.
If you manage to get the Fayt/Albel ending for the game, there is also another scene where the optional bosses, a fake Fayt and Albel, are conversing and have a small exchange before fighting the real ones. The two are comfortable enough to pick at each other’s faults and not worry about offending each other; if Fayt were to be that friendly with Sophia, he’d run the risk of hurting her feelings, and Albel can be downright nasty to anyone if he wants to be. Besides being laden with innuendo, the conversation also showed that Albel can’t and won’t completely dominate over Fayt. Albel threatened to cut out his friend’s tongue when he brought up the fact that Albel failed to apologize for getting them into trouble with the lord of the last town. Fayt told him that he knows Albel won’t back up his threat and that he’s really a softie deep down. The two see each other as equals and know that they won’t hold each other back. (During a scene on the Quark ship Diplo, Albel declares he will be accompanying Fayt and his party to Moonbase. Despite the fact almost everyone protested with the fact Albel might not be able to return to his home planet, Fayt disagrees and says Albel accompanying them would be a good idea)
PRIVATE ACTIONS
The charm of the pairing lies within Private Actions, or PA’s for short. Private Actions are small events that take place outside the game’s actual story line and are used mainly to increase affection points between Fayt and his party members. However, one must venture out of their way in order to obtain these little scenes, and not only that, but in order to have the desired affect, you need to say the right things, which can be hard at times.
During one PA, Fayt and company are at Peterny for whatever reason and are resting at the eastern inn. In the middle of the night Albel, brandishing his katana, stabs Fayt’s pillow and barely misses his face. Startled, Fayt begins demanding an explanation. The man was just testing his aim, supposedly. After attempting to lecture him on the dangers of stabbing people’s pillows, Fayt is lured outside and is asked by Albel if he hates him. Fayt replies with a casual ‘not really’, leaving Albel somewhat stunned. He insists that Fayt should hate him for having hurt his friends numerous times, but Fayt explains that it was all due to circumstance; they had been at war at the time. Albel brings up the fact that he could attack Fayt at that very moment, but is told that he is trusted. Albel simply walks away quickly, leaving a sarcastic response in his wake, before being followed back into the inn by Fayt.
Despite the fact that Albel kept insisting that Fayt hate him, Fayt kept his ground and showed that he trusted and maybe even admired his friend. In the end, whether his self-loathing nature was unable to accept the fact that someone actually trusted him, or he was genuinely amused with the fact Fayt was so trusting of him, he left the scene with his usual callous commentary.
The next morning, upon talking to Albel, Fayt is prompted with a question : Why did the Aquarians win the war? Albel says the answer is quite simple. Fayt says that it is because the king of Airyglyph should have been more ruthless. Albel smiles at the answer, obviously very happy with the fact that there "is a brain in Fayt’s head after all", before initiating a lengthy conversation about the faults of the Glyphian Kingdom.
In another PA, upon speaking to Albel at Arkives, he states that he dislikes this world because the people are seemingly apathetic, and that he is eager to put them out of their misery. Fayt protests, but Albel says he is just joking and that he hasn’t killed anyone as of yet. Fayt says that as long as Albel understands the situation it’s alright, and that he is holding back too; his father had been killed recently because of the people at Arkives. Able to see that the conversation was upsetting the younger boy, Albel declares that he dislikes talking about this sort of thing and ends the conversation abruptly. Although it would be false to say Albel is completely insensitive, it is a bit unusual to see him so considerate of another’s feelings. It could be because he can relate to losing his father like Fayt. Whether or not he ended the conversation because he truly disliked talking of such topics or because he was aware of the fact he was indirectly making Fayt upset is entirely up to interpretation.
In the Fayt/Albel ending, which is available only if you manage to earn enough affection points, the two are traveling alone together. The two have a small spat about having to camp out since Albel was unable to find a road to the nearest town. Albel makes a snide comment about Fayt kicking him in his sleep. Not amused, Fayt tells Albel that his screaming due to his night terrors keep him up before quickly reprimanding him for getting into trouble with the lord of the last town. He tells him to look for his own faults before finding faults in others. Getting snappy though not angered, Albel tells Fayt to mind his own business and draws his sword, threatening to cut out Fayt’s tongue. As it turns out, there are bandits (Fayt guesses there are five but Albel guesses correctly in estimating there are six) hiding in nearby bushes and the two had sensed their presence long ago. They engage in a quick fight, Fayt lending his sympathy to the two he didn’t fight, before reminding Albel that he had told him to go easy on them. Albel simply tells his friend "Lessons cannot be taught by a gentle hand. These types won’t learn anything unless you lay them up for a week."
The little moments shared between the two make it plain as day that they are very much friends and have developed a unique relationship throughout the game.
The pairing works because Fayt is one of the few people who is able to tolerate and perhaps even accept Albel’s twisted and sardonic personality yet at the same time could teach him a thing or two about people skills. The basis of this pairing is trust and respect, and there’s obviously a lot between the two. Fayt is the only person Albel really opens up to in the game, even if it’s just a little, and there are some things only they can relate to. Despite having slightly different ideals and ways of looking at life, the two seem to be good friends and are quite comfortable around each other.
However, if Albel is to be in a relationship with anyone, even Fayt, there are tons and tons of issues he needs to clear up with himself and humanity. He has a high amount of self-hatred and that hatred might even cause him to think he is unworthy of love, especially from someone who is superior to him in battle like Fayt. Not only that, but the man has been brought up to be a coldhearted, seemingly unfeeling warrior, which is obvious through the way he perceives people and treats others; it would also be an issue whether or not he would even be able to show affection or even recognize love. And his homicidal thoughts and threats of bodily harm towards innocent people don’t make it any easier, either.
Fayt would be willing to go very far for a friend however, and seeing as how he even forgave the man for nearly stabbing his face, Albel would probably be no exception. Although he isn’t exactly a patient person, Fayt cares about each his friends and would naturally want to help Albel with his emotional and mental woes. Not only that, but Fayt is probably the only person Albel trusts enough to let help him. In order for any Albel-pairing to work, there needs to be a decent level of communication between the two characters, and unlike with Nel or Cliff or anyone else, Albel communicates with Fayt, and civilly at that.
As brash as he is, Albel probably wouldn’t make any first-moves unless he was completely certain of his and Fayt’s feelings and where they stood in terms of a relationship. And even then, that self-hatred and feelings of inferiority might kick in. Although it would indeed jade the relationship, Fayt has shown that he is willing to go far for a friend, even put his life on the line if need be, so if he truly wanted to help Albel, he could and would.
While he may have his selfish moments, Fayt is a kind and understanding person and that alone might be all Albel really wants; someone he could talk to and who he knows wouldn’t judge him.
FANDOM AND FIC RECS
Most stories take place during Fayt and Albel’s private travels post-game, most likely to avoid any problems with other characters getting in the way of the ship. Surprisingly, any fanfics that take place during the game are relatively humane to Sophia; the authors might openly state their dislike for her but hardly do they ever bash her. Although, portrayal of Albel and Fayt sometimes leave a lot to be desired. Despite making it quite clear that he can hold his own against Albel, Fayt is often portrayed as a typical uke (submissive partner in a Yaoi relationship) and is usually being victimized by Albel’s aggressive nature. Other that that, the fandom is not only quite welcoming towards others who enjoy the pairing, but very much sane for the most part, which is more than most fandoms can say about their ship of choice.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
faytxalbel || the fayt/albel livejournal community
Fanfics
Sinister Rouge
Vermillion
Knockin’ Down Hesitation
Connection (contains smut)
Duel (also contains smut)
Fandom :: Star Ocean – Till the End of Time
Ship :: AlFei (Albel/Fayt)
Author :: Lulu (shoutacon@aol.com)
Spoilers :: Just about the whole game.
Additional Notes :: Aah, I love this ship so much, I feel so honored to be able to write this for them! I really wanna thank the people over at the Fayt/Albel community for giving me their input (whether they intended to or not) about certain aspects of the pairing and such. And I reeeeeeeeally wanna thank my beta, May.
I recall one day mindlessly going through pictures when I suddenly stopped, taking in the beauty before me. To simply put it, I thought that this man was a bishounen; he had the most unique hairstyle and I marveled at the bizarre clothing style he bore. I had never seen a male character wear such a…revealing outfit, let alone a skirt before.
To be completely honest, Albel Nox was probably the only reason I got into the fandom at first.
Upon actually buying the game, I instantly fell in love with Fayt Leingod, the blue-haired, seemingly frail boy who was just noble to a fault. I didn’t forget about Albel however, and I loved the other characters as well, and by the time Albel did appear, I had decided then and there that I wanted to ship them together no matter what, if just for eye-candy purposes only.
At first, AlFei (Albel/Fayt) seemed a bit crack-ish; Albel was just too cynical and rude to people and Fayt seemed a little too goody-two-shoes for his taste. However, after the story progressed and they interacted more, it became quite clear to me that AlFei was no crack pairing. The relationship the two shared was quite unique and intriguing, to say the least, and I can only hope I am able to share with you what makes this relationship as interesting as it is.
The game Star Ocean – Till the End of Time, a project by Square-Enix and TriAce, is a Playstation 2 game that takes place in the far future. It starts off on the planet Hyda IV where you meet Fayt Leingod and his friend Sophia, who are on vacation with Fayt’s parents, Dr. Robert and Ryoko Leingod. Their vacation is interrupted when the small planet is attacked by a group of ships belonging to the Vendeen Empire. This later on initiates a war with the Pangalactic Federation. During the evacuation of Hyda IV, Fayt is separated from Sophia and his parents and is forced to land on an underdeveloped planet called Vanguard III. After assisting the nearby village, he is rescued by a man named Cliff Fittir, who is part of the anti-federation group called Quark, which is when he learns that Cliff’s leader wishes to speak with him. Upon boarding his ship, they are attacked by the Vendeen once more and forced to crash-land on a planet called Elicoor II, where they are imprisoned. It’s then that they meet a woman named Nel Zelpher, who gives them two options : assist her country with their technology or die where they are. Naturally they chose the former. Soon afterwards the two are involved in a great war between the two kingdoms, which paves the way for the fight to save the universe.
The main character of Star Ocean – Till the End of Time. At first, Fayt is a normal college student from Earth, but after the attack of Hyda IV, him and his family were vacationing at, he is soon thrust into an adventure that has the fate of the universe in the balance. Fayt’s personality is somewhat different from most video game’s leading males; he is what one could describe as a ‘goody-two-shoes’. He’s almost always willing to go out of his way to help others, set things right, and follow the rules whenever possible. He has a tendency to overreact to things and is sometimes melodramatic. Overall, however, he is an understanding person with a lot of determination when the situation calls for it.
Albel, also known as Albel Nox the Wicked, is the captain of the Black Brigade, one of the three military forces of the Kingdom of Airyglyph, and one of the best swordsmen on Elicoor II. As a person, Albel is socially inept, often referring to his peers as ‘fools’, ‘maggots’, ‘worms’ and other lovely nicknames, and cannot help but look down on others. He has a deep-seeded hatred for himself and the way he treats people, and because of that, is very introverted and hardly ever speaks out in the group asides from the occasional sarcastic comment.
Their relationship is unique, to say the least. Albel sees Fayt as a rival and a trusted friend. He is obsessed, as Fayt puts it, with becoming stronger than him and is even willing to leave his home planet in order to do so. As much as he detests losing to Fayt, he bears no malice towards him. Despite the fact they were enemies previously, Albel sees Fayt as someone he can talk to and respects him greatly. Like with all his friends, Fayt cares about and respects as Albel as well, although the magnitude of that trust is quite high. During a scene at the inn in Peterny, Albel states that he could attack and kill Fayt during the time they were talking; they were alone outside and no one would be able to stop him. Fayt simply smiled and said that he trusted him. At the time, the two hadn’t even known each other for that long, and yet it’s Fayt who implies that he would trust the man with his life. One can also tell Fayt cares about his comrade, having apologized to him for beating him during their duel in the Urssa Lava Caves during the second half of the game. Fayt also seems to accept Albel’s faults and imperfections and respects him despite them, showing no desire to change the man; during the scene at Peterny, Fayt states that although he can’t relate to Albel’s intense desire to be stronger, he sees nothing wrong with it. The two are able to communicate openly with one another and can even relate to each other at times, such as the conversation they had after the night in Peterny as well as another time in Arkives.
If you manage to get the Fayt/Albel ending for the game, there is also another scene where the optional bosses, a fake Fayt and Albel, are conversing and have a small exchange before fighting the real ones. The two are comfortable enough to pick at each other’s faults and not worry about offending each other; if Fayt were to be that friendly with Sophia, he’d run the risk of hurting her feelings, and Albel can be downright nasty to anyone if he wants to be. Besides being laden with innuendo, the conversation also showed that Albel can’t and won’t completely dominate over Fayt. Albel threatened to cut out his friend’s tongue when he brought up the fact that Albel failed to apologize for getting them into trouble with the lord of the last town. Fayt told him that he knows Albel won’t back up his threat and that he’s really a softie deep down. The two see each other as equals and know that they won’t hold each other back. (During a scene on the Quark ship Diplo, Albel declares he will be accompanying Fayt and his party to Moonbase. Despite the fact almost everyone protested with the fact Albel might not be able to return to his home planet, Fayt disagrees and says Albel accompanying them would be a good idea)
The charm of the pairing lies within Private Actions, or PA’s for short. Private Actions are small events that take place outside the game’s actual story line and are used mainly to increase affection points between Fayt and his party members. However, one must venture out of their way in order to obtain these little scenes, and not only that, but in order to have the desired affect, you need to say the right things, which can be hard at times.
During one PA, Fayt and company are at Peterny for whatever reason and are resting at the eastern inn. In the middle of the night Albel, brandishing his katana, stabs Fayt’s pillow and barely misses his face. Startled, Fayt begins demanding an explanation. The man was just testing his aim, supposedly. After attempting to lecture him on the dangers of stabbing people’s pillows, Fayt is lured outside and is asked by Albel if he hates him. Fayt replies with a casual ‘not really’, leaving Albel somewhat stunned. He insists that Fayt should hate him for having hurt his friends numerous times, but Fayt explains that it was all due to circumstance; they had been at war at the time. Albel brings up the fact that he could attack Fayt at that very moment, but is told that he is trusted. Albel simply walks away quickly, leaving a sarcastic response in his wake, before being followed back into the inn by Fayt.
Despite the fact that Albel kept insisting that Fayt hate him, Fayt kept his ground and showed that he trusted and maybe even admired his friend. In the end, whether his self-loathing nature was unable to accept the fact that someone actually trusted him, or he was genuinely amused with the fact Fayt was so trusting of him, he left the scene with his usual callous commentary.
The next morning, upon talking to Albel, Fayt is prompted with a question : Why did the Aquarians win the war? Albel says the answer is quite simple. Fayt says that it is because the king of Airyglyph should have been more ruthless. Albel smiles at the answer, obviously very happy with the fact that there "is a brain in Fayt’s head after all", before initiating a lengthy conversation about the faults of the Glyphian Kingdom.
In another PA, upon speaking to Albel at Arkives, he states that he dislikes this world because the people are seemingly apathetic, and that he is eager to put them out of their misery. Fayt protests, but Albel says he is just joking and that he hasn’t killed anyone as of yet. Fayt says that as long as Albel understands the situation it’s alright, and that he is holding back too; his father had been killed recently because of the people at Arkives. Able to see that the conversation was upsetting the younger boy, Albel declares that he dislikes talking about this sort of thing and ends the conversation abruptly. Although it would be false to say Albel is completely insensitive, it is a bit unusual to see him so considerate of another’s feelings. It could be because he can relate to losing his father like Fayt. Whether or not he ended the conversation because he truly disliked talking of such topics or because he was aware of the fact he was indirectly making Fayt upset is entirely up to interpretation.
In the Fayt/Albel ending, which is available only if you manage to earn enough affection points, the two are traveling alone together. The two have a small spat about having to camp out since Albel was unable to find a road to the nearest town. Albel makes a snide comment about Fayt kicking him in his sleep. Not amused, Fayt tells Albel that his screaming due to his night terrors keep him up before quickly reprimanding him for getting into trouble with the lord of the last town. He tells him to look for his own faults before finding faults in others. Getting snappy though not angered, Albel tells Fayt to mind his own business and draws his sword, threatening to cut out Fayt’s tongue. As it turns out, there are bandits (Fayt guesses there are five but Albel guesses correctly in estimating there are six) hiding in nearby bushes and the two had sensed their presence long ago. They engage in a quick fight, Fayt lending his sympathy to the two he didn’t fight, before reminding Albel that he had told him to go easy on them. Albel simply tells his friend "Lessons cannot be taught by a gentle hand. These types won’t learn anything unless you lay them up for a week."
The little moments shared between the two make it plain as day that they are very much friends and have developed a unique relationship throughout the game.
The pairing works because Fayt is one of the few people who is able to tolerate and perhaps even accept Albel’s twisted and sardonic personality yet at the same time could teach him a thing or two about people skills. The basis of this pairing is trust and respect, and there’s obviously a lot between the two. Fayt is the only person Albel really opens up to in the game, even if it’s just a little, and there are some things only they can relate to. Despite having slightly different ideals and ways of looking at life, the two seem to be good friends and are quite comfortable around each other.
However, if Albel is to be in a relationship with anyone, even Fayt, there are tons and tons of issues he needs to clear up with himself and humanity. He has a high amount of self-hatred and that hatred might even cause him to think he is unworthy of love, especially from someone who is superior to him in battle like Fayt. Not only that, but the man has been brought up to be a coldhearted, seemingly unfeeling warrior, which is obvious through the way he perceives people and treats others; it would also be an issue whether or not he would even be able to show affection or even recognize love. And his homicidal thoughts and threats of bodily harm towards innocent people don’t make it any easier, either.
Fayt would be willing to go very far for a friend however, and seeing as how he even forgave the man for nearly stabbing his face, Albel would probably be no exception. Although he isn’t exactly a patient person, Fayt cares about each his friends and would naturally want to help Albel with his emotional and mental woes. Not only that, but Fayt is probably the only person Albel trusts enough to let help him. In order for any Albel-pairing to work, there needs to be a decent level of communication between the two characters, and unlike with Nel or Cliff or anyone else, Albel communicates with Fayt, and civilly at that.
As brash as he is, Albel probably wouldn’t make any first-moves unless he was completely certain of his and Fayt’s feelings and where they stood in terms of a relationship. And even then, that self-hatred and feelings of inferiority might kick in. Although it would indeed jade the relationship, Fayt has shown that he is willing to go far for a friend, even put his life on the line if need be, so if he truly wanted to help Albel, he could and would.
While he may have his selfish moments, Fayt is a kind and understanding person and that alone might be all Albel really wants; someone he could talk to and who he knows wouldn’t judge him.
Most stories take place during Fayt and Albel’s private travels post-game, most likely to avoid any problems with other characters getting in the way of the ship. Surprisingly, any fanfics that take place during the game are relatively humane to Sophia; the authors might openly state their dislike for her but hardly do they ever bash her. Although, portrayal of Albel and Fayt sometimes leave a lot to be desired. Despite making it quite clear that he can hold his own against Albel, Fayt is often portrayed as a typical uke (submissive partner in a Yaoi relationship) and is usually being victimized by Albel’s aggressive nature. Other that that, the fandom is not only quite welcoming towards others who enjoy the pairing, but very much sane for the most part, which is more than most fandoms can say about their ship of choice.
faytxalbel || the fayt/albel livejournal communityFanfics
Sinister Rouge
Vermillion
Knockin’ Down Hesitation
Connection (contains smut)
Duel (also contains smut)