Me and @its-caluke were talking about Sharla's outfits and how she is really given the short end of the stick for them, and decided to come up with an outfit that the original designers might have given her if they made special outfits for Valak mountain, tho because of that poor Sharla gets boob windowed on the snowy mountain XD

Valak Mountain (Xenoblade Chronicles)

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My Top Five Locations for Xenoblade Chronicles

Disclaimer: This is for the first Xenoblade Chronicles game only, I have separate locations from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 that I also adore. This is also spoilers for the whole game so please do not read on if you do not wish to be spoiled. This is also my own personal opinion, if you disagree that is totally fine, just please don’t start an argument about it.

1. Alcamoth

Alcamoth takes its place as my favorite location in the entire first game. I may be biased as Melia is my favorite character and this is her home, but it reminds me of a location in my favorite book series. I also adore how futuristic yet regal it looks, a perfect blend of class and advanced technology. Its location above Eryth Sea also helped it secure the number one spot in my book.

2. Satorl Marsh

When I first arrived at this area during the day, I was not at all captivated by it. It just seemed like your ordinary marsh, and the fog that an NPC mentions occurs at night I thought would just make it a more eerie place to be. However, when night fell, the trees began to glow and the fog was beautiful though still in an eerie way. The music is also gorgeous, and between the day and night versions I definitely prefer the night version.

3. Eryth Sea

I love the beach and the ocean so it is no surprise that Eryth Sea would be among my favorites, it being the location of the imperial capital of the High Entia was also a bonus. The transporters that you use to travel around the hovering reefs are also incredibly convenient considering the only other way to get around is walking/swimming. The day overworld theme was also used as part of Melia’s theme in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, who I’ve already established as my favorite character, so extra points.

4. Agniratha

The abandoned Mechonis capital did not strike my eye at first either, I saw it more as a nuisance than anything with the constant attacks from Mechon as well as all the side quests that involve said Mechon. However, the melancholic quality of the area as well as the night overworld music really sells the rather sad story of Egil and the Machina, Egil trying to avenge his people and rebuild Mechonis all on his own. While his tactics were not fair to the people of Bionis, you can really understand where he is coming from and why he was driven to do what he did.

5. Valak Mountain

At first, the area did not seem to be any different from any other snowy areas that I’ve seen in past games I’ve played, but as I began to explore more I grew an appreciation for it. The way the crystals illuminate the night sky with a golden glow as a soft piano plays in the background is gorgeous. The High Entia ruins really drew an air of mystery around the area as a whole, something waiting to be discovered by the player. It may be at the bottom of my top five list but I still adore the area.

[Xenoblade 3 OCs] Endings and Beginnings. Partings and meetings.

I have been replaying xenoblade hd fervently and have now officially gotten past this one fight I was stuck on like... eight or ten years ago in the span of like. a week

I feel pretty good about it!

Sleep

There were many times when Xord wished he could close his eyes, but his Face Unit granted him no such reprieve. His four eyes gazed endlessly out of heptagonal sockets, radiating red light like tiny red suns. He longed for the private darkness of eyelids. It was a universal darkness, at least among the beings of Bionis. When they closed their eyes, Homs and monsters alike saw into their skin. Every blink was a reminder of their mortal flesh.

Xord didn’t know why Homs or any other creatures slept, but it must not have been important. To him, sleep would come as an escape. He was tired of listening to the voice inside his head, and that voice was tired of talking. In repose, they could both find peace.

If Xord could sleep, he would awaken only to feed himself—an existence any animal would covet. Having resigned himself to the wilderness, that was what Xord had become: a mechanical animal. Yet, he had been forced to retain his damnable brain, and in the vast tundra of Valak Mountain, there was scarcely anything for it to think about.

If Xord could dream, he could live another life—at least, if he was lucky. It was a gamble: Xord could just as easily fall victim to nightmares inspired by all of those things he had seen when he was unable to close his eyes. But really, could any imagined scenario be worse than the nightmare he was living in? To someone burning in hell, what was one more flame?

Sometimes, Xord would remember how nice it felt to lie in bed, even if his eyes were open. The ghosts of that feeling came to him in flashes: sinking into his mattress, the pillowcase against his cheek, cotton bedsheets, letting his feet stick out from under the covers.

His brain was homesick.

i love how it's actually easier to get collectable items in xbc2, sure i love xbc1 but having to run across the map and hoping that each and every little collection point i come across is the item i need for a quest gets extremely boring. in xbc2 however i can just equip a couple of blades with botany and get 3x the amount of flower items from one collection point.

exactly! Floren, Azami and Dromarch my beloved <3

I think xb2 in general had better exploration, tainted only by awkward map/compass and not counting blades outside of the party for field skills

The combat being better in every single way also helps

valak mountain!

one thing is that i love wben u play a game . a d it has mausic

I have feelings about fantasy worlds

[ID: The "shoutout to women, gotta one of my favourite genders" meme edited to say "shoutout to unconventional fantasy world shapes, gotta be one of my favourite settings. I fw individual fantastical areas too if anyone was wondering". Several drawings and screencaps are edited in, such as the Discworld, Laputa from the Ghibli film Castle in the Sky, and the titans Bionis and Mechonis from Xenoblade Chronicles in the upper half. The lower half of the meme has has screencaps from Satorl Marsh and Valak Mountain from Xenoblade Chronicles and Sylvalum from Xenoblade Chronicles X edited in. End ID.]

so why was there a dragon

Ok, my roommate and I had a fantastic conversation about Xenoblade naming conventions over dinner, because I pointed out that each area in the game bears a name that likely originates from one of the cultures living near that area: Satorl Marsh, Eryth Sea, and Valak Mountain are High Entian names. Given that "Satorl" is a combination of Soltnar and Khatorl, the sister goddesses with statues in the marsh, we decided that the High Entia name areas after important mythological figures, so "Eryth" and "Valak" would be names (or corruptions of names, more on that later) of High Entian legends. Makna Forest is a Nopon name. I'll talk about it later along with another name that is conspicuously missing from this list. Colony 9, Bionis' Leg, Colony 6, and Bionis Interior are Homs names. They're very utilitarian and bluntly descriptive, which we agreed fits the Homs to a tee. The Bionis Interior isn't really in Homs territory, but no one really goes there or lives there and the party is entirely Homs the first time you go there, hence they'll call it by a Homs name. Now, you might've noticed that there's one name that doesn't fit the pattern of this list so far. Who named Tephra Cave? It's in Homs territory, but Homs tend towards utilitarian names. The old High Entia ship is under Colony 9, but Tephra doesn't really sound like a High Entia name. The Nopon primarily live in Makna Forest and Tephra still doesn't sound like a Nopon name. So who named it? The Giants did. They have a number of ruins there and there are multiple sidequests relating to them; of the main 5 races in xc1, the Giants have by far the strongest connections to Tephra. also we have very few examples of Giant names so it's easy to say that Tephra would fit with them

But then, why Tephra? What was the impetus to name the caves with that word specifically? My roommate had a stroke of genius: "Tephra" is just the Giant word for cave. "Tephra Cave", as the Homs call it, is just cave cave. We took this inspiration and ran with it. "Makna" is the Nopon word for forest. Satorl Marsh is actually called Khatorl's Marsh, but some wires got crossed and now it's a blend of her name and her sister's for the Homs. Eryth's Sea and Valak's Mountain lose the possessives when the Homs are talking about them, or maybe they don't! I'm not feeling that creative right now, but it's possible Valak and Eryth are corruptions of High Entian names that the Homs accidentally created. If the Homs were allowed to name other parts of the Bionis, they would just be "Bionis' Back" and "Bionis' Head" (or, if you're feeling fanciful like me, they could be "Lumbar Marsh" or "Scapular Forest" or "Crown Sea").

Valak Mountain was somehow made even prettier in DE

A storm raged among the mountains, the Moon blinded completely underneath wooly black clouds. Yet, to Irene, the howling wind, and the clawing of rain against stained glass, had become familiar. As icy-cold hands caressed her flushed back, she found herself kissing the man underneath her more fiercely. Man... Devil?

She let out a muffled sigh. In spite of his frosty touch, his body was hotter than fire. She ran her fingers through his tar-black hair. His embrace grew tighter around her delicate form, and she could only savor the sensation of muscles through his scarred skin.

In the end, she was forced to withdraw from him. Gasping for air, she sat up straight, though remained to straddle his hips. His inky lips crooked into a sly smirk as he looked up at her. Irene met his half-lidded eyes, and stroked his jaw with the tips of her fingers.

The lazy glow of candles laced her in a warm amber sheen, making his heart swell in adoration. Valak reached to stroke her cheek. Naked in his arms, her silken hair tousled ever so slightly, Irene might as well have been Venus herself.

"We can't hide forever..." she murmured, leaning into his touch.

"We aren't hiding."

She grasped him by the wrist, and pressed a kiss to his palm.

"Aren't we? Lucifer..."

"Knows where we are" Valak raised himself on his elbow.

Irene simply shook her head. He stole a glance at her breasts, prompting her to roll her eyes.

"You are beautiful" he whispered.

She ran her thumb over his bottom lip. He grasped it between his teeth, a playful glint appearing in his gaze. She chuckled, and kissed the top of his head. Valak sezed his moment, nuzzling his mouth to her neck.

"Snake!.." she yelped.

The grazing of his beard against her sensitive skin had made her stomach flutter. He pulled away, not at all bothered to hide his self-satisfaction.

"All yours" he agreed with a grin, and wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her close.

He must be right, she thought. Lucifer will seek them out, should he need them. Until then, nothing but their love mattered. She had forsaken Heaven for it, after all. Not that Heaven could ever compare.