After a “long” while of my last post I decided to finally get around to putting peoples requests and recommendations of their fav priests into the format. Keep in mind I don’t know who most of these characters are and I mainly put them in here because they were requested and matched up to the descriptions. Id be lying if I said it wasn’t impossible to squeeze them all into one thing. Thank you all for showing off your deranged priest bbgs!
Malos' initial resentment and need for destruction was only a desire fuelled by Amalthus' hatred for the world, which took away his mother. Malos initially took glee in enacting his Driver's hatred and need for destruction until his defeat by Mythra during Torna.
Malos became lost and unsure of the meaning of his own existence after his defeat. Did he really want to destroy? What's the point of his existence if he's not strong? That all changed when he met Jin, who became lost in the same way Malos was.
Malos made it his life's purpose to do whatever Jin wanted. Both out of a sense of guilt for what he did to him years ago at Torna, but also a newfound sense of love and affection for him, in the way Malos knew how. Malos' personality and worldview changed with his time with Jin.
Malos' need for destruction during the main events of Xenoblade 2 is due to his idea of what Jin wanted. It's a desire for fulfilling Jin's wishes, whatever they may be. He hates the world because of what it did to Jin, and he hates himself due to being influenced by Amalthus.
Malos did change, in the way Pneuma did with Addam and Rex. Jin changed Malos for better or worse. He loved him. I find Malos such an interesting character as his hatred and anger comes from many places. He's a man who struggles with the concept of his own existence.
Playing XC2 if you played Torna first is a very different experience
Aka, a rough list of all my reactions to things that I shouldn't of reacted to on a first run cause I played Torna first-
(Note, I played both games for the first time years ago, this is just a recreation of my reactions.)
(Chapter 1) Aww Azurda has new adopted human and this one calls him Gramps that's adorable!
meeting new Torna for the first time Aww it's a cute Gormotti girl-! Why is Malos here-?! JIN WHY ARE YOU WITH MALOS WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!
Okay so Malos has a blade now, checks out given that his core is probably wrecked after what Mythra did to him but I guess Aegis's can be Drivers now.
JIN WHY DID YOU STAB A CHILD WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!?!?!
Oh, so Pyra is Mythra's new self. She seems sweet but I want my sassy girl back.
(Chapter 2) Yay Gormott! Glad to see it's not burned to the ground anymore.
If I had a nickel for every time Brighid attacked us thinking we were criminals I'd have 2 nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's funny it happened twice.
Why isn't Pyra's fire affected by the water- oh is it cause of Mythra?
Oh, so Mórag is Brighid's new driver. Should've figured that out sooner but they're a cool looking pair. Wonder where Aegeon is though.
(Chapter 3) Hey Cole's scar kinda reminds me of Minoth, wonder what happened to him.
In between my tears over what just happened MYTHRA'S BACK FUCK YEAH!!!
(Chapter 4) Addam why the hell are you wearing a cloak you weren't wearing it in that scene.
MYTHRA I GET THAT YOU'RE UPSET AND PROBABLY STILL DEPRESSED OVER MILTON I AM TOO BUT I'M SORRY!!!
Wait.... COLE WAS MINOTH?!?! Jeez man what happened? I know you said you were a failed Flesh Eater but I didn't realise that meant this...
Also Minoth man, I love you but I think old age has made you senile why the hell are you sending us to Amalthus?
get's control of Mythra YES!! And omg her specials are her old arts that's adorable!!
Oh so this is the 'Evil Tifa' I've heard people joke about- wait.... MIKHAIL?!?! MY SON?! Okay this means you survived whatever the hell Amalthus did that's good, but it's been 500 years how are you still alive regardless? Also he's evil now which is bad but at least he's with his dad Jin.
WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME FIGHT MY SON GAME?!?!?!
Okay upside, Brighid's back at least and yup she's still awesome. And her specials are her old arts too that's still adorable.
Haze my babygirl you're back-! Wait, Fan la Norne? I'm with Mythra on this one when did that happen? And why is half of your core gone?
(More under cut)
(Chapter 5) Okay yeah I'm doubly with Mythra something happened to Haze and I am concerned.
Okay I can see why Addam picked this place for the Tornan refugees this place is beautiful.
Wait, Zeke's the Prince of where? I have not heard of Tantal before, is it new or am I forgetting something? (it was in-fact, relatively new)
in the same tone of 'Dinkleberg' Amalthus..... I can't prove it yet but you're the one behind Haze's missing core aren't you?
YES!! REX!! AMALTHUS WAS MALOS'S DRIVER DON'T TRUST HIM!!
Jin, I again ask what the hell happened to you?
Empty Moment- OH GOD THAT'S HIS LEVEL 4 I DID NOT WANT TO KNOW WHAT THAT FELT LIKE AAGGHH!!
Jin what are you doing- HAZE NO!!! JIN I KNOW HAZE HATED AMALTHUS AND HE PROBABLY DID SOMETHING TO HER BUT WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!?!
after I'm finished crying Oh, hey Aegeon, was wondering when you'd show up. And that's the Emperor of Mor Ardain? Aww, he looks like an even more baby Hugo-! Wait... Hugo.... oh no.
(Chapter 6) Niall what are you doing no no no-! NOT AGAIN!!!
Okay, Nia, thank you for stopping history from repeating itself.
The Tantalese are descendent from Addam, that can't be right Addam went to Leftheria-! Zettar started this, didn't he?
No tier lists I don't care if Aegeon sucks I'm gonna use him anyway because I am biased.
'Cadet Branch of the Royal Family' Yup, Zeke is descendant from Zettar, RIP my man having to be in the same bloodline as him.
GAME WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME FIGHT MY SON AGAIN-!! WHY DOES MIKHAIL HAVE A CORE CRYSTAL?!?!
Pyra Mythra no no no you two aren't just made to destroy don't go with them no no NO!!!
(Chapter 7) Ah, so this is where Addam hid the third sword. 5 minutes of gameplay later I can see why he hid it down here, this place would drive anyone mad.
Is this what it feels like to be on the receiving end of Addam's talent art? Cause all these reinforcements have to be equivalent to being perma toppled and launched with how long this takes.
Addam drop the hood already.
Malos you fucking bastard when I get my hands on you....!! Jin you can stay but you're on think fucking ice pardon the pun.
YES!! REX GIVE THOSE GIRLS THERAPY THEY NEED IT!!!
(Chapter 8) You know, I'm pretty sure most people picked Pyra here calls Pneuma Mythra but I am not most people
YAY!! I can play as Jin again! And he is somehow even more overpowered than before!
Jin why are you lying to Brighid, she's more mature but she's otherwise the same.
Jin... ate.... oh... I should've.... figured but.... oh god.... I just thought loosing Lora messed him up but having to eat.... yeah between that and Amalthus no wonder he's like this.
Torna......
Aww, nice Jin's still in there, he let us go and told Brighid the truth.
(Rest of the game cause I love it but I forget the chapter markers) So.... um.... Jin I'm glad you were able to find love again after Lora but why did it have to be Malos? Like this is weirdly sweet but this is a weird progression.
AMALTHUS I KNEW YOU WERE THE ONE WHO MESSED WITH HAZE MALOS YOU ARE OFFICIALLY PRIORITY 2 THIS BASTARD DIES FIRST!!
Okay that's how Mikhail survived this long so I guess Amalthus was good for one thing.
No no no no no no no- MIKHAIL!!!!! Why.....?!?- Oh god they're showing the scene where he met Lora and Jin again GAME WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!?!
Okay I wanted to help Jin and stop Amalthus anyway but now I'm doing it for my baby boy.
Don't worry Jin I've got your back. THIS IS FOR LORA HAZE MIKHAIL AND EVERYONE ELSE YOU BASTARD!!!!!!
...... J... Jin...... chapter 9 is living up to it's name because I was a rainstorm of tears after this
Malos for Jin's sake I don't want to kill you anymore can you please stop- damn it!!
Never thought I'd be sad to see Malos go but, here we are.
Pyra, Mythra, what are you- no no no no NO!! POPPI I KNOW YOU'RE KEEPING YOUR PROMISE AND WE HAVE TO LEAVE BUT LET ME GO I HAVE TO SAVE THEM!!!!
bawling crying until the two come back and the tears become happy tears Heh... thank god....
Juliett Evil words: I Will be Immortal!
Dumas: Heh heh heh heh mwah hah hah hah!
Amalthus: Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Lance: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Juliett: heh heh heh heh heh heh heh Ah HA HA HA HA HA! HA HA HA HA HA HA! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha! AH Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Perrault: Nyah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah!
I've been a HUGE fan of the Xeno series ever since Xenogears. These games (Xenogears, the Xenosaga trilogy, the Xenoblade games) have THE best stories I've ever experienced in a video game series. They're SO GOOD.
That said, Praetor Amalthus of Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has slowly become one of my favorite characters of all time. I love him, I feel like he's underrated and that a lot of people don't seem to really understand his character, so allow me to map out why he is so cool and complex!
One of my favorite character archetypes is the manipulative mastermind villain. The behind-the-scenes schemer who was behind EVERYTHING all along. The Xeno series has some GREAT villains, and just about EVERY iteration has one of those masterminds I described - in fact, some of them even have SEVERAL, so there's always suspense over WHICH mastermind grand plan will be the one to top all of the others. I'm sure I'll be gushing about other Xeno antagonists in future posts.
Although he's not the most present in the game, or the final boss, Amalthus is most DEFINITELY the main antagonist of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and the mastermind directly behind just about EVERY single major event in the game and its DLC.
I honestly feel Amalthus is underrated - and from what I can tell, a lot of people online don't seem to understand the character very well. The game doesn't do much in the way of directly explaining a lot of his motivations, but at the same time they very purposely give us so much subtext surrounding his character to piece together the answers ourselves.
At a very young age, Amalthus suffered through an extremely traumatizing event. Trauma really changes people - without going too deep into it, I myself had a very rough and traumatizing childhood, and I'm here to tell you that shit can REALLY warp you if you let it. I let it turn me into a pretty bad, vengeful, hateful person for a while.
But here's the thing: No one wants to be the villain in their own story. As trauma changed and corrupted Amalthus, his mind justified the actions he took as a result of that corruption. He saw the world as a violent, awful, murderous place with no redeemable qualities. He turned to Indol, a religious state, to get answers and help the helpless, but his missionary work only showed him more murder and violence and lawlessness. He became so desperate for answers and hope for the world that he climbed the World Tree to confront the Architect. Instead, he found the Aegis Crystals, which he saw as holy relics, and formed Malos.
Malos was born from Amalthus's warped view of the world, and so he became a violent, hateful, murderous force. The ironic thing is that, because Amalthus essentially saw Malos as a holy symbol and a representation of the Architect's will, he took Malos's nature as proof that the world was an awful place, and that even the Architect was devoid of any sympathy. Amalthus and Malos became terrible influences on each other without realizing it.
I think, at every step of the way, Amalthus truly sees himself as a good person. It's the rest of the world that is awful. His attempts to gain as much control as possible over all of Alrest, and the countless wars and murders done in service to that, is an attempt to save Alrest from the lawless chaos he sees it as. Even arguably his darkest moment, saving a baby and then murdering it, was an act of mercy in his eyes. He was saving the baby from growing up in such a terrible world.
His motives, in his eyes, were valid. He was trying to help Alrest. But because he already saw Alrest itself as such a horrible, violent world, it meant that he, too, had the moral authority to be horrible and violent. In his mind that was just how the world worked, it was how to get things done. When he meets Rex and the party, he's pleasant and kind to them, because that is the person he sees himself as. He tries to work with them, but manipulates them and gives them his own skewed version of events.
But another thing I LOVE about Amalthus is that, even though he and Malos ultimately become enemies, and Malos and his Torna group actively work against Amalthus, they are kind of unwittingly his minions? Torna wants to destroy the Architect and, essentially, the world. Amalthus can't quite see or admit it to himself, but that is exactly what Amalthus wants too, he is just not nearly as self-aware as Torna is.
As the party learns of Amalthus's true nature and evil deeds, he starts becoming much more openly antagonistic. He essentially saw it as a betrayal of his holy purpose and saw them as the enemy. As time goes on, he starts going so far as trying to destroy the World Tree and essentially all of Alrest. I think that, partly, is a result of Malos's corruption of him, with Amalthus thinking the Architect's will itself wants to destroy Alrest. But it's also a desperate grab for control - if he can't see the Architect and/or save the world, no one can. In his mind, no one has earned that right more than him. He's the only person that was dedicated enough to climb the World Tree. He found the Aegis Crystals and bonded with one of them. He worked hard to control every government, to control the Core Crystal trade itself by registering them and licensing their Drivers, etc.
But like.... okay. I'm sorry. The game takes place in a world where continents are living, organic Titans. Civilizations live on the backs of giant monsters that roam the giant Cloud Sea of Alrest. It was probably the coolest friggin moment of any Xeno game EVER when Amalthus started mind controlling the Titans. Amalthus quite literally took control of the world itself.
I also love that his huge "final battle" form is essentially a manifestation of his manipulations. He registered and "cleansed" the Core Crystals, and turned himself into basically a grotesque monster by fusing himself with all of his Crystals. And like, sure, Malos and his Artifice are the final boss of the game, but Malos himself is essentially a manifestation of Amalthus's hatred and warped worldview.
Amalthus is a VERY effective villain, and he's an interesting study on just how much mental gymnastics a person can do to justify their own evil. He had zero self-awareness, he actively sought to find the good in humanity but instead kept finding signs that his twisted mindset was correct, and grew to use the world's own ruthless ways against it.
