| 1 | Kirigaya Kazuto, better known as the Black Swordsman Kirito, is breaking down the gates of the World Tree alongside his sister Suguha in a desperate effort to save the love of his life from a psychopath with delusions of godhood. |
| 2 | |
| 3 | In another world, the third daughter of one of Halkegenia's most prominent noble families, Louise François Le Blanc De La Valliere, tries desperately to summon a familiar and shed the mocking title of 'zero'. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | [[GoneHorriblyRight She]] [[MassTeleportation succeeds]], relocating all of Alfheim, Cardinal, and 61,000 players into Tristain and inadvertently foiling Kirito's assault on the World Tree. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | [[http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/halkegenia-online-thread-24-please-stand-by.17386/ Halkegenia Online]] ([[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8903072/1/Halkegenia-Online Fanfiction.net]]) is a ''Literature/SwordArtOnline''/''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero'' crossover fanfic by Triggerhappy, a product of Spacebattles' continued mission to cross over [=ZnT=] with absolutely everything ever. Notable for awe-inspiring weekly update speed paired with above-average quality, strong characterization, and smooth pacing. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | The Fanfiction.net link above leads to the first arc of the story. The second arc, [[http://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/halkegenia-online-thread-14-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-salamander.279410/ Halkegenia Online v2.0]] ([[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9581483/1/Halkegenia-Online-v20 Fanfiction.net]]), is also complete. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10037318/1/Halkegenia-Online-Arrun-Parallel-Story-Melancholy-Heart Arrun Parallel Story: Melancholy Heart]] is an interim story taking place alongside the events of the second arc. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | The third arc, [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/halkegenia-online-thread-24-please-stand-by.17386/ Halkegenia Online v3.0]] ([[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10063397/1/Halkegenia-Online-v3 Fanfiction.net]]) is also complete. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | [[http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/halkegenia-online-thread-22-kill-sheffield-vol-2.7172/ Halkegenia Online: Beach Episode]] ([[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10636500/1/Halkegenia-Online-Beach-Episode Fanfiction.net]]) is another side story taking place parallel to Chapters 10 and 11 of v3.0. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | After a 3 year hiatus, the author has returned with a new side story, [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/halkegenia-online-thread-24-we-now-return-you-to-your-regularly-scheduled-program.17386/page-285?post=20473490#post-20473490 Maid in Arrun]], and [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/halkegenia-online-thread-24-we-now-return-you-to-your-regularly-scheduled-program.17386/page-346#post-21192072 the prologue of the fourth arc]]. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | The collected omakes/sidestories are being published under the title [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9969447/1/Halkegenia-Offline Halkegenia Offline!]]. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | The [[Characters/HalkegeniaOnline Character Sheet]] lists the tropes related to individual characters. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | See ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' and ''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero'' for tropes related to the original works. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | Go to [[https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/halkegenia-online-story-only-refactored-and-reloaded.20442/ sufficent velocity]] for the latest updates on the "Refactored and Reloaded" version. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | ---- |
| 28 | !!!Specific tropes found in ''Halkegenia Online'': |
| 29 | * AbhorrentAdmirer: Poor Wells seems to have sparked this in Aki, which he considers his private hell for the [[NecessarilyEvil atrocities that must be committed for Reconquista]]. |
| 30 | * AccidentalMisnaming: It's Ca-ra-mel-la, not Caramel. People mess up her name so often that it becomes a RunningGag. |
| 31 | * TheAlcatraz: La Forace Prison, when it was active, had been rumored to be impregnable. |
| 32 | * AllOrNothing: |
| 33 | ** Operation Dunkirk. If it succeeds, the rebels will be set back for months. If it fails, Tristain will be left with virtually no air force. |
| 34 | ** Same goes for Reconquista's plan in the second arc. If it succeeds [[spoiler:Tristain is effectively theirs without needing to fire a shot and they even gain an exceptional general whose loyalty will always be beyond doubt.]] If it fails [[spoiler:their entire network of spies, saboteurs, and sympathizers in Tristain gets blown wide open, leaving Princess Henrietta free to consolidate her control over the government to the point where she will be impervious to any future attempts at subversion. And the Tristain-Fae-Albionian Royalist Alliance will now be totally unshakable, leaving Albion with no choice but a bloody, brutal invasion.]] |
| 35 | * TheAllSolvingHammer: In 3.0 Sheffield lampshades the tendency of the Halkegenian nobility to solve everything with magic, noting that a simple tumbler lock would have inconvenienced her much more than the old, extremely powerful enchantments. |
| 36 | * AllThereInTheManual: Most of Rute's answers to economic questions during the debate include mention that he'd already been discussing that issue, in detail, on the messaging boards. |
| 37 | * AlternateUniverseFic: At first it looks like events will proceed mostly the way they usually do, though Louise doesn't get her familiar. Then Asuna and the Knights of Blood wind up in Albion, and everything goes completely off the rails. |
| 38 | * AncientConspiracy: [[spoiler:The Church is keeping birth records and investigating mages claimed to be failures to find users of the Void, and has been doing so for generations.]] |
| 39 | * {{Animorphism}}: The Beast Form, and its specialized Cait Sith version. |
| 40 | * AreWeThereYet: Pippin continuously asks: "Is it ready yet?" while Tiffa is making dinner. |
| 41 | * AreYouPonderingWhatImPondering: Invoked word for word by Mortimer in the third arc, about the matter of Pixie volunteers. |
| 42 | --> '''General Gramont:''' "Quite lad! But, all this talk about uniforms we were just having. I have to ask. [[ItMakesSenseInContext Where are we supposed to get over a thousand tiny pairs of panties?]]" |
| 43 | * AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: For the Vespid Knights, whoever defeats the current leader becomes the new leader of the knights. This is how Sayuri became leader [[spoiler:only to be defeated by a newly blossomed Botan, a Pixie who's more willing to seek a peaceful resolution with humanity.]] |
| 44 | %%%* AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance: The Fae as a matter of course. |
| 45 | * AttackItsWeakPoint: |
| 46 | ** The easiest way to kill a dragon is to strike at the base of the skull. Now about getting there... |
| 47 | ** The Venus Man Eater dies when its trunk is severed at the stem. |
| 48 | ** The Sword Crabs will die when their ganglia is destroyed. |
| 49 | ** [[spoiler:Remove Octavia's crown, and she becomes little more than a pixie sized fish girl with no power at all.]] Managing this, however, is much harder than hitting the above-mentioned weak point of a dragon. |
| 50 | * AttractiveBentGender: |
| 51 | ** [[spoiler:Kirito/Midori is regarded as a stunning beauty by all who meet her]] |
| 52 | ** Shiori technically counts as well given she was a guy in Japan and the triplets are considered to be cute. As it happens, one of them has a male faction disguise. |
| 53 | * AuthorAppeal: Many of the female fae have bodies that [[Franchise/AttackOnTitan Mikasa Ackerman]] would be proud to own. WordofGod says that he likes that body shape. |
| 54 | %%%%* AwesomeButImpractical: According to WordOfGod, this is how the refitted Thunderchild will end up. |
| 55 | * AwfulTruth: Yes, Louise, it was all your fault. |
| 56 | * BackInTheSaddle: Karin comes out of retirement to fight in the Tristain-Albion war. |
| 57 | %%%%* BackToFront: Argo's dream flashback. |
| 58 | * BadassCrew: The Salamander Lord's personal guard. A minimum entry requirement is slaying a flying dragon singlehandedly. |
| 59 | * BadassDecay: InUniverse example. Titania was originally written in ALO as a power in her own right who stood up to Oberon (Sometimes to the point of outright war) to protect the Fae and mob races she loved. Sugou was in the process of rewriting her character to be a submissive wife who offered her body to Oberon to purchase his mercy towards those races as part of his plan to cast himself as Oberon and warp Asuna into Titania. Asuna did ''not'' like learning what kind of personality Sugou was planning to give her when she found out about it, though at least some of the mob races that recognize her as Titania remember Titania's original depiction. At least one of them ([[spoiler:Octavia]]) is aware of ''both'' depictions and wants to know what happened to her. |
| 60 | * TheBard: The entire Puca race, who provide assistance in combat using song magic. |
| 61 | * BattleAmongstTheFlames: Asuna's duel with Dunwell in the castle/gunpowder stock at Wallsend. |
| 62 | * BattleButler: |
| 63 | ** Lawrence Maison, Wales' butler. While he doesn't physically fight, he's nevertheless the Eagle's XO. |
| 64 | ** [[spoiler:Fernand, the butler of Count Arthur.]] |
| 65 | * BattleCouple: Kirito and Asuna. Really, was there any doubt? |
| 66 | * BattleTrophy: Morgiana has a new hat. |
| 67 | * BeachEpisode: In v3.0. Business and relaxation alike ensue, and then that night, [[spoiler:suddenly a boss battle happens!]] |
| 68 | * BecomingTheMask: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]]. Morgiana says she is willing to become her faerie persona for real if that's what it takes to keep the fae safe, especially her "kids" in Kurotaka. She notes that Sakuya has become the Fae Noblewoman for real without noticing it. |
| 69 | * BecomingTheCostume: The fae are starting to manifest more and more "racial" traits as time goes on, such as the Cat Sith acting like stereotypical cats (such as a penchant for fish), and the Salamanders and Undine becoming more sensitive to changes in temperature. |
| 70 | * BedmateReveal: [[spoiler:Morgiana wakes up the night after Dunkirk to find herself in bed with Eugene after a [[GladToBeAliveSex night of partying.]]]] |
| 71 | * BeePeople: The pixies have many similarities to insects. They are a OneGenderRace born in a symbiotic relationship with their Garden, and have a caste system, with the Knights acting as guardians, and Shamans as the spiritual leaders. They also undergo a Blossoming (i.e metamorphosis). There is no queen as such, but Yggdrasil can be thought as a cross between one and a deity. |
| 72 | * BelligerentSexualTension: [[spoiler:Mortimer and Sakuya have this coming out of them by the gallon.]] |
| 73 | * BetterToDieThanBeKilled: After running into zombie Fae, Caramella asks Wales to incinerate her if she is killed or too wounded to escape. |
| 74 | * BewareTheSillyOnes: The ''Djinn''. Who first show up as comic relief due to being an annoying but ultimately harmless mob that speaks in broken statements. People find it cute. Then Asuna gets in trouble and the Djinn she befriends goes to rally all the other Djinn until they combine into [[AdorableAbomination a huge monster]] capable of fighting Octavia - one of the most powerful Boss Mobs in existence. |
| 75 | * BeyondTheImpossible: Colbert is initially dismissive of the idea that Louise summoned Alfheim's World Tree because it would be impossible for a single mage to summon such a humongous thing. Even if she were to attempt it [[HeroicRROD she would surely die from willpower exhaustion]]; "One hundred mages would kill themselves..." Alicia agrees because, from her side, she can't imagine summoning happening at all. Lady Sakuya convinces them both with the following logic: |
| 76 | --> ''What I'm saying is impossible. But as Kirito-kun said, an impossibility cannot be disregarded when we have observed it." |
| 77 | * BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Wales and Kino]] save [[spoiler:Caramella]] at the last second, but [[spoiler:Asuna and Arguile]] have to rescue all three of them minutes later. |
| 78 | ** [[spoiler: Kirito's rescue of Asuna]], complete with DynamicEntry. |
| 79 | * BilingualDialogue: Between [[spoiler:Skuld and Tonkii]] in v2.0 epilogue. |
| 80 | * BodyDouble: Used in the second arc to foil a major part of Reconquista's plan. |
| 81 | * BornFromPlants: As said in Chapter 34: |
| 82 | --> wild pixies are like little helpers to Yggdrasil, they protect and tend to World Tree and its offshoots. They spawn from a rare species of flower that only buds in the presence of the World Tree or one of its shoots and only blossoms on the night of a full moon. [=ALfheim=] lore says that Navigation Pixies are wild pixies that are born from a Yggdrasil Blossom that blooms in captivity. |
| 83 | * BossBattle: At least once per arc, there is a large and mighty boss monster requiring a raid group, or some special enemy soldier that that needs to be defeated. |
| 84 | * TheButlerDidIt: [[spoiler:The true BigBad of the Tarbes arc is actually Fernand, Count Arthur's butler and friend.]] |
| 85 | * CameBackWrong: [[spoiler:Aki, this is especially evident in {{Omake}} snippets.]] |
| 86 | * CassandraTruth: Louise collapses of willpower exhaustion in the short timespan between her summoning ritual and Alfheim's manifestation in Tristain. Kirche is the first to put two and two together but both Osmond and Colbert brush off her suspicions on the grounds that the strain of summoning something so huge would kill any single mage to attempt it.[[spoiler:Though there is some evidence that they are at least willing to entertain the possibility at least in private, because they are at such a loss as to how to explain it, ''nothing'' can be ruled out.]] |
| 87 | * TheCavalry: During the Tarbes arc, the investigation team is reinforced by a team composed of Cat Stih dragon riders, Tristain dragon knights, and local mages from a milita muster for the Lhamthanc boss battle. Gauis uses the trope by name when he arrives with Silica, who delivered the message to him. |
| 88 | * ChefOfIron: Asuna is this, as is [[spoiler: Drake]], though Asuna extends her repertoire beyond the "ordinary" subtype as seen in 3.0's BeachEpisode when she is dealing with seafood. |
| 89 | * ChekhovsGun: Kino idly noticed some gunpowder stocks during the Fae's reconnaissance of York. He later ignites them to provide a distraction for their escape. |
| 90 | ** The [[spoiler: Resurrection potions]] carried by Midori are later used to [[spoiler: save Wales' life following Wardes' treachery]]. |
| 91 | * ClarksThirdLaw: Because the Medieval Europe-ish setting of Halkegenia wouldn't have the frame of reference to understand things like virtual reality, the Faeries explain that Alfheim was an illusionary world created by magic, and that the entire setting was contained within a very complex spell. As Louise thinks, "the idea that Faeries were masters of illusions only made sense". |
| 92 | * ClosestThingWeGot: When players-turned-Fae realized they had to build their own society, everyone with potential trade skills was tapped. Many of them had legitimate training and experience but not every job was covered. Need a military? Start with the role-play mercenaries and soldiers. Need civil engineers? Grab the people who managed aquariums for their pet fish. Need murder investigators? Recruit the info broker, the real-life police officer with training in an entirely different area, and the guy who did just this sort of thing, once, in SAO. |
| 93 | %%%%* CliffHanger: An oft-lamented feature of the story. It's rare for a chapter (part) not to end in one. |
| 94 | * CoolPlane: The Mitsubishi [=A6M2=] Zero Fighter was replaced by the UH-1 "Huey" Iroquois helicopter. |
| 95 | %%%* CrashIntoHello: How Bardiche meets Yui. |
| 96 | * CrazyEnoughToWork: This is how everyone thinks of Operation Dunkirk, when they don't consider it a straight up SuicideMission of course. |
| 97 | -->"Mort, this is a really bad idea. A really, really, bad idea." [Morgiana] breathed as she unsheathed the almost ceremonial looking knife that she carried at her waist, twirling it easily before sinking the blade through York on the map. "Lets do it!" |
| 98 | * CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:Cromwell's self destruct button causes the captured zombie to literally melt in a very graphic fashion, [[NightmareFuel while praising the Founder all the way.]]]] |
| 99 | ** The Crumbling Miasma spell (basically acid on steroids) generates a ball of black fumes that spread on impact, cling to everything, and slowly eat at it, be it metal, wood or flesh. Shiori uses it [[spoiler:against pursuing ships]] and nearly throws up when she realizes what's happening. |
| 100 | * CultureClash: The Faeries and the more conservative of the Tristainians often butt heads due to this. Of particular note is an encounter between Sakuya and the noble in charge of Tristain's legal collegiate, in which they disagree on the punishment of a Faerie criminal. Sakuya assigns a few weeks of community service. The noble (who can't actually do anything about it) declares the crime treason, and it's implied that he wants the criminal executed. The actual crime? [[spoiler: Vandalism, and slanderous propaganda directed at Sakuya and the crown.]] |
| 101 | * CurbstompBattle: |
| 102 | ** [[spoiler:Despite a huge number of setbacks along the way, Operation Dunkirk is a resounding success, attaining all of its major objectives, and yielding hefty secondary benefits for the Allies, while they suffer only light to moderate overall casualties in return.]] |
| 103 | ** [[spoiler: The conspirators at La Forace Prison believed they could hold off an assault long enough for their leaders and prisoners to escape, and for any potential evidence to be destroyed. Boy were they wrong.]] |
| 104 | * CustomUniform: The assorted Fae volunteers (except for the Salamanders), due to being former players, have a wide variety of gear. |
| 105 | ** One of the reforms Lord Mortimer is trying to pass is the standardization of Tristain's military uniform and equipment. |
| 106 | %%%%* CutenessProximity: Tabitha with [[strike:Catgirls]] Cait Sith. |
| 107 | * DamselInDistress: Defied. Asuna regains her badass status in her first scene and takes command of the [=SAOvivors=] for the trek across Albion. Even when a rebel mercenary clubs her over the head and gets her in a submission hold [[DamselOutOfDistress she's still strong enough to wrestle most of the way out before her backup arrives.]] |
| 108 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: Oh boy, where to start? Kirito and Asuna, [[spoiler:Sakuya, Morgiana, Caramella, Kirche, Tabitha, Colbert...]] The list goes on. |
| 109 | * DarkerAndEdgier: Louise's character arc seems to be playing out this way compared to canon. You're not in a Harem Comedy anymore, Miss de Valliere. |
| 110 | * DawnAttack: The opening shots of Operation Dunkirk. |
| 111 | * DeaderThanDead: If you don't do this to the Zomfae ([[KillItWithFire by incinerating them]]), they'll just keep getting back up again. Aki has been blown to pieces with a cannon at point blank range, pulled herself back together again only to be smooshed into jelly by a collapsing roof a few minutes after regaining the ability to walk... and she's still 'alive'. |
| 112 | * DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Unlike most [=ZnT=] crossover fics, Saito is actually in this one. He is promptly killed, turned into a zombie, and then killed for good. The audience doesn't know this until after the fact when ''his real name is put on his gravestone with his SAO handle''.]] |
| 113 | * DeathFromAbove: Reconquista fleet, meet WWII air power. |
| 114 | * DeconstructionCrossover: The fic deconstructs one of the central themes of Literature/SwordArtOnline, that it is possible to create a virtual world that can perfectly copy reality. |
| 115 | * DeliberateValuesDissonance: The Halkegenians, as usual. This causes some tension with the Fae, who being from TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, have a more modern value system. |
| 116 | * DemocracyIsBad: Many Tristainian Nobles (Karin especially), are less than impressed by the Fae's ideals regarding government. |
| 117 | ** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] since every Democracy Halkegenia has ever had have been fairly short-lived governments that typically imploded on themselves - So Tristanians are simply basing their judgments off of historical evidence. Colbert speculates the reason Fae democracy works might be due to widespread literacy and huge accumulation of knowledge. |
| 118 | * DemolitionsExpert: Several, but Lydel has had the most screen time thus far. |
| 119 | * DemotedToExtra: Due to loss of the Harem Comedy elements from the ZnT half of the source material, Siesta's relevance to the plot has been reduced to effectively nothing. She has a few appearances in the first arc where she is tending to Louise immediately after the Transition, and in the Tarbes arc, but then disappears until the Maid in Arrun arc, where she serves as a POV showing Faerie society through Halkegenian eyes. |
| 120 | * DeusExMachina: [[spoiler: This is Kirito's point of view when Yui HACKS Cardinal and upgrades his Beast Form to full Gleam Eyes during his fight with the Raid Boss near the Yggdrasil shoot. He has no idea what's going on when he is transformed into Gleam Eyes just as he was about to lose. A god, or something like it, was indeed involved after all.]] |
| 121 | * DirtyBusiness: Arguile and Prince Wales execute the captive mercenary, so that Asuna doesn't have to. |
| 122 | * DisasterDemocracy: The primary demand of Regin and Ryo, the two main opposition leaders in the Second Arc. Though the former is simply interested in having a government more legitimate than simply "whoever was in charge at the time of the Transition", while the latter is a blowhard self-proclaimed rival of Sakuya trying to make a play for power now that things are relatively calm. |
| 123 | * DisguisedInDrag: [[spoiler: Kirito invokes this with Spriggan illusion magic, taking the appearance of his [[DudeLooksLikeALady notoriously feminine]] GGO avatar as a disguise for the rescue mission to Albion. Only, he's actually female in that form.]] |
| 124 | * TheDividual: Shiori is a special case, in that she's three Cait Sith, sharing one mind. |
| 125 | * DoomedByCanon: A lot of the plot of V1 revolves around the Fae trying to find a way home. There isn't really any way, aside from a few who might be able to replicate what Saito did in the actual series - [[WordOfGod as confirmed by Triggerhappy]]. |
| 126 | * DoNotCallMePaul: Downplayed, the fae typically go by their avatar's handle rather than their player's name, only telling the latter to exceptionally close relations. Few people, for instance, know that Kino's name is [[spoiler: actually Hayato]], and one of them is his surrogate big sister. A non-canon omake later turns it to a cultural phenomenon where a fae will choose an "avatar" name when they can fly unaided as a sort of coming-of-age ceremony. |
| 127 | * DueToTheDead: Caramella and Kino erect a small symbolic gravestone with the names of the zombified players. A more formal ceremony is also planned. |
| 128 | * DynamicEntry: |
| 129 | ** Kirito rescues Asuna by [[spoiler: springing into action against the one of the few soldiers she hadn't managed to kill before he arrived, thus turning the tables in her favor.]]. |
| 130 | %%%** The assault on [[spoiler: La Forace prison]]. |
| 131 | * EitherOrOffspring: All natural born Fae of two differing races will take after the [=race/faction=] of the mother. |
| 132 | * ElectiveMonarchy: Downplayed in that the Faerie Lords are Counts/Countesses and their positions have a set term limit before requiring another election to keep their titles. |
| 133 | * ElephantInTheRoom: Alicia is forced during the debate to publicly point out the really big one: That the Fae of [=ALfheim=] might be here forever. |
| 134 | * EliteMook: The zombie Fae have all the same superhuman abilities as their living counterparts but with additional FeelNoPain, fearlessness, and zealous determination. |
| 135 | * EmotionsVsStoicism: Rare in that it's technically a one-person war. [[spoiler: Karin has to deal with this due to a mana potion completely replenishing her willpower reserves, but at the same time causing her to completely lose control over her emotions. She's now struggling to regain it.]] |
| 136 | * EntertaininglyWrong: Several in the Fairy community, such as Netzel, think that Kirito and Asuna were married adults back on Earth who played Alfheim Online with their daughter Yui, and it was only good fortune that they were all logged in at the same time when the Transition happened. Based on any kind of observation of the trio, one can't fault anyone for coming to this conclusion. Kirito himself is amused and thinks it better that people think that way (for now at least). |
| 137 | * EnfantTerrible: Shiori is a set of three of small and creepy Cat Sith who infamous for PKing and originally came to Alicia's attention when they were caught looting bandit, who Shiori had killed in their sleep. |
| 138 | * EverythingTryingToKillYou: All of Alfheim's mobs and field bosses got 'ported over along with the players and the architecture, making this true for Tristain. The already hostile wilderness has this upped to DeathWorld levels. |
| 139 | ** Note that monsters already present in Halkegenia are not immune to this, either – patrols have found whole clans of Orcs slaughtered by local mobs. Between this and said mobs being as territorial as they are, Tristain could arguably be said to be safer now than it was before. |
| 140 | * EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler:Sayuri goes nuts over why the Pixies that were born from [[DoomedHometown the same nest as her]] choose to side with the humans. She refuses to believe that the humans who took care of them are good people and accuses the humans of using magic to tame and mind-control them.]] |
| 141 | * ExplainExplainOhCrap: While investigating the murders of V 2.0, Argo asks Suisen to list the possible next targets based on what is known of the current victims. She jumps for her dagger seconds before Suisen says her name, and before someone breaks through the roof of her room. [[spoiler: It was only Netzel spying for a story.]] |
| 142 | * ExtraStrengthMasquerade: The sapient mobs have cognitive blocks in place which keep them from comprehending that ALO was only a game. [[spoiler:With the exception of Solomon.]] |
| 143 | * ExactWords: |
| 144 | ** Asuna gets Kirito to promise to get an outfit that isn't black. He promptly buys a dark blue outfit so close to black that it looks black to everyone who sees it other than Yui. |
| 145 | ** [[spoiler:Digby swears that Richmond will not be harmed by himself or any man or woman under his command. He then immediately relieves Ephi from his service.]] |
| 146 | * EyeScream: |
| 147 | ** [[spoiler:Fernand]] loses an eye due to Sayuri's last ditch attack, distracting him long enough for Count Arthur to finish him. |
| 148 | ** [[spoiler:Louise's left eye is damaged in the Reconquista [[TheCoup attempted coup]].]] |
| 149 | %%% Zero Context. What does one have to do with the other? |
| 150 | %%%* {{Facepalm}}: Rute, Cardinal Mazarin, and Duchess Valliere's reaction to Ryo's "plan" to [[ArtisticLicenseEconomics distribute the contents of the faction's treasuries to the masses]]. |
| 151 | * FakeOutMakeOut: Agnes pulls one on Caramella. [[AwkwardKiss Caramella mentally notes that Agnes really doesn't know how to kiss properly.]] |
| 152 | * FairFolk: Many humans in Halkegenia see the players-turned-Fae as the classic archetype. These unnaturally beautiful humanoids appeared out of nowhere from another world (LandOfFaerie, perhaps?). They wield a type of magic alien to their own which can beguile the mind of their victims or turn themselves into beasts. The fact they, by the Fae's own admission, created an entire illusory reality ''for fun'' only furthers the perception. |
| 153 | * FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Mathilda's plan to get Tiffa out of Albion revolves around making her pursuers think she is dead, therefore they will not look for her.]] |
| 154 | * FantasticRacism: |
| 155 | ** The Tristainians are deathly afraid of elves, and the fairies happen to look like elves with wings. It takes some fast talking and good diplomacy on multiple fronts to keep this from being applied to the fairies as a whole, but it works for the most part. |
| 156 | ** Played straight with Reconquista but averted with some of the common folk of Albion. The rebels didn't get the memo about the Fae and treat Asuna and the [=SAO=]vivors as heretic elves. [[spoiler:Royalist sympathizers ironically mistake them for a group of ''native'' fairies spoken of in folktales who are said to be ancient allies of the crown.]] |
| 157 | ** Sayuri the Pixie hates humans [[spoiler:because a group of them burned down her home nest. This has led her on a campaign to drive the humans out of Tarbes.]] |
| 158 | ** [[spoiler:Ephialtes hates humans and considers them, even those who are mages, to be inferior to Faeries in every possible way. This is very much the result of his own rage at [[IHatePastMe his life, pre-Transition]].]] |
| 159 | ** [[spoiler:Lord Justice Richmond hates the Fae and considers them subhuman.]] |
| 160 | ** This is actually subverted in the [[BeachEpisode Beach sidearc]]; in order to avoid trouble with the Salamanders, commoners dye their hair red and hide their ears, Salamanders show solidarity by doing the hiding their own ears with hats and headbands, ensuring that any actual racists can't cause trouble without attracting the attention of the City Watch. |
| 161 | * FantasyContraception: One of the most commonly used but least talked about uses for water magic is for birth control. |
| 162 | * FirstLawOfGenderBending: Despite having to use his Midori gender-bender disguise multiple times, Kirito averts [[SecondLawOfGenderBending all]] [[ThirdLawOfGenderBending three]] laws of Gender Bending. His gender change is easily reversible, he never gets accustomed to being a woman, and (appearance aside) adopts mostly masculine clothes and demeanor. Though, the Third Law gets {{Enforced}} in some non-canon omakes. |
| 163 | * FlyingPostman: A job opportunity for younger faeries. |
| 164 | * ForcefulKiss: Caramella's response to Agnes' attempts to brush off the FakeOutMakeOut that Agnes had earlier performed on her. |
| 165 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: Bishop knows Kirito's and Caramella's names. |
| 166 | ** Dormant functionality [[spoiler:of the Cardinal]] has been activated. |
| 167 | ** A later chapter shows that she's aware that Yui is the daughter of Kirito and Asuna, and that she knows both of their full, human names. |
| 168 | ** [[spoiler:Skuld finds a strange, levitating stone in the body of a baby Jotunn.]] |
| 169 | * FourLinesAllWaiting: The story switches viewpoints a lot in the first few chapters, ranging from Louise to Henrietta to Asuna to Kirito pretty randomly. Near the end of the "meet and greet" phase the politics are mostly dropped and the story focuses on Asuna and Kirito trying to get back to each other. |
| 170 | ** It happens again during the Tarbes Arc, which was originally intended to be a roughly four chapter diversion and spun out of control into a complete side story right in the middle of the Albion arc. |
| 171 | ** Back with a vengeance in the second arc, with [[spoiler:Novair's murder]], the search for the missing Pixies from Sayuri's garden, political tensions among the Fae, as well as ongoing story lines involving the war with Albion, Louise's magic, and Yui's attempts to communicate with Cardinal. [[spoiler: It turns out the murder, the missing Pixies, and the political tensions all had connections to a Reconquista plot - though they don't actually find the missing Pixies.]] |
| 172 | ** And in the third arc we have [[spoiler:Morgiana's pregnancy]], the creation of the Yggdrasil Knights, Dunwell rebuilding the Fourth Squadron, Shiori's infiltration of Albion, Matilda's attempt to steal the Heel Stone from Kingston, Yui's first day of school and meeting of Bardiche and Balandene, etc. |
| 173 | * FourStarBadass: General Eugene and General Gramont are veteran commanders who make a great show at Dunkirk, both in leading and in personal combat. Prince Wales might also qualify; it's fuzzy because he doesn't have an official rank, but was de facto in charge of Newcastle since his dad basically turned into a shut-in. |
| 174 | * FromBadToWorse: |
| 175 | ** Asuna and the research subjects. On the upshot, Sugou apparently wasn't logged in when the transfer occurred, and the changes to the game world busted the lock on Asuna's cage and woke up the other [=SAOvivors=]. On the other hand, [[spoiler: their only escape route dumped them in Albion, right in the middle of a civil war.]] Out of the frying pan... |
| 176 | ** Good News: [[spoiler:It looks like the Windstone Catastrophe, the impending apocalypse in canon has been delayed.]] Bad News: [[spoiler:It is because some of the Windstones are being turned into Ice Giants.]] |
| 177 | * FullCircleRevolution: Cromwell is continuing many of the Royalist policies that inspired people to rebel in the first place. |
| 178 | * FunWithAcronyms: '''Hal'''keginia '''O'''nline. |
| 179 | ** '''T'''ristainian '''R'''oyal '''I'''nstitute of '''S'''cience and '''T'''echnology. Trist happens to be an obsolete spelling of trust. |
| 180 | ** '''C'''ombined '''A'''llied-'''T'''ristanian '''S'''trategic '''I'''ntelligence, Or the Cat's Eye |
| 181 | *** Doubles as a shoutout to the author of [[Fanfic/FairyDanceOfDeath another well-loved SAO fanfic]]. |
| 182 | * GenderIsNoObject: The Fae have both genders fighting together. Depending on how ALO was coded, [[PurelyAestheticGender there might be virtually no difference in the base builds for male and female in regards to power]]. |
| 183 | * GiantFlyer: |
| 184 | ** [[spoiler:Lhamthanc the Steel Toothed's second form can fly.]] |
| 185 | ** [[spoiler:Also Morgiana's Beast Form.]] |
| 186 | * GirlOnGirlIsHot: |
| 187 | ** Played with during [[spoiler:Asuna's reunion kiss with Kirito, while the latter is still in his female disguise. Caramella seems all too pleased to have witnessed the sight.]] |
| 188 | -->'''Kino:''' We followed the dragons. |
| 189 | -->'''Wales:''' And the smoke. |
| 190 | -->'''Caramela:''' [[FreudianSlip And the yuri... I mean the yelling! We followed the yelling!]] |
| 191 | ** Also the Gramont brother's reaction to watching Caramella kiss Agnes. |
| 192 | * GivingRadioToTheRomans: Along with fighting the mobs and providing volunteers for the war with Albion, this is how the Fae are earning their keep. |
| 193 | * GladToBeAliveSex: [[spoiler:Heavily implied in the aftermath of the Dunkirk victory celebration. Morgiana doesn't mind.]] |
| 194 | * GoingDownWithTheShip: [[spoiler:Or castle in the case of Wales' father; as the king he feels it is his duty to die with the defenders of Newcastle. Rather, that's what he says to convince his last living son to flee.]] |
| 195 | * GondorCallsForAid: Downplayed in that Kirito never actually asked for their help, but [[spoiler: a host of SAO survivors including Agil, Klein, Lizbeth, Silica, and Argo followed the rumors of Asuna's appearance in ALO and jumped into Alfheim to help Kirito just before the Transition.]] |
| 196 | * GoneHorriblyRight: |
| 197 | ** Louise wanted desperately to summon something, ''anything'' so she won't be branded as a failed mage anymore. She summoned a WorldTree, several cities, said city's countryside, and thousands of supernatural humanoids, and all of it superimposed over her home country. What's worse, no one knows/believes that she summoned it [[spoiler: at first.]] |
| 198 | ** Julio's plan. [[spoiler:So, you wanted to confirm your suspicion and spirit away Tristain's void mage if proven right. You succeeded. Congratulations. Now '''everyone''' in the country is aware of your attempt, and Karin has seen you, and might be able to identify Romalia as the culprit (even if she doesn't the Fae will in short order), he didn't get Tristain's ring and void artifact with its void mage, meaning Louise is next to useless for any long-term plans, and you might have just helped the pope commit political suicide.]] |
| 199 | * GovernmentInExile: [[spoiler:Having survived, Prince Wales and the royalists are technically the legitimate Albion government, even if they have been kicked out of Albion.]] |
| 200 | * GreyAndGrayMorality: The Reconquista Rebels and the Albion Royalists. Some of the people fighting on both sides truly believe in their causes but many of their leaders are evil and do nasty things to the commoners whether they be friend, enemy, or neutral. It becomes less ambiguous as we get a closer look at Albion society in v3.0. King James is confirmed to indeed be a tyrannical ruler, whose abuse of power and neglect of the lower classes is the driving force behind the civil war. It changes the moral dynamic somewhat in that the Reconquista Rebels actually become pretty justified, [[UnwittingPawn and are just the victims of opportunists]], while the Royalists are [[JustFollowingOrders mindlessly following a tyrannical regime]] and seemingly have no real excuse. Then it comes back into the grey for the Rebels though, when you consider that Prince Wales was near-universally loved by the people and would have made an excellent monarch. But he was still on the kill list. This is actually lampshaded by Dunwell way back in v1.0 when he thinks that it would've been better for King James to have escaped rather than Wales as it would've helped the people back Reconquista more rather than having them split between the two. |
| 201 | * TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Averted with Mortimer's personal bodyguards, who react very competently during the ambush. |
| 202 | * HandCannon: Say hello to Kimura, Artillery Slug. He can carry ''severall'' of these in his tentacles |
| 203 | * HappierHomeMovie: [[spoiler:Brimir's memories that Louise sees look fairly idyllic but Brimir himself isn't happy. This doubles as a sort of {{Video Will|s}}.]] |
| 204 | * HearMeTheMoney: Leafa is able to expose an attempt to falsely incriminate a fellow fae into indentured servitude by clinking together the supposedly stolen silver candlesticks using this method. As Fae have a heightened sense of hearing, this actually works as opposed to being a gimmick. |
| 205 | * HellHolePrison: La Forace Prison is a secret underground facility built by the order of First Lord Justice of Tristain Lord Aschcroft, right under his home. It made his torturing habit more convenient. |
| 206 | * HeroAntagonist: [[AntiVillain Sir Dunwell]] of Reconquista is this. A good and honorable man who joined the rebels when he couldn't stand [[KickTheDog the actions of the royalists]] any further and punishes abuses of authority by his underlings whenever he becomes aware of them. Word of God says he'd drop the "antagonist" part if he ever got the memo about the rebellion's true purpose. |
| 207 | * HiddenInPlainSight: |
| 208 | ** When it is revealed that [[spoiler: the Henrietta that was kidnapped at the gala in V.20 was actually a body double]], Guiche wonders where the real one could possibly be that would be safer than where the fake one was. It doesn't occur to him [[spoiler: to take a close look at any of the musketeer guards.]] |
| 209 | ** How Matilda intends to hide Tiffania in Tristain after getting her out of Albion. Sylphs look a lot like Elves and Half-Elves, so Tiffa can be covered as a Sylph who doesn't like flying. |
| 210 | ** Wales's disguise at Ragdorian Lake is little more than a straw hat. |
| 211 | %%%* HistoricalDomainCharacter: All over the place. |
| 212 | * HomingProjectile: Lacking devices or magic to guide their payloads, [[RidingTheBomb they use their wings to do so]]. |
| 213 | * HostageSituation: |
| 214 | ** Kirito engineers a situation like this as a show of good faith to the Tristainians, offering himself as a hostage to ensure Colbert's safety in diplomacy with the Sylphs. |
| 215 | ** Octavia takes Kirito hostage to force Asuna to fight her. |
| 216 | * HumansAreBastards: Sayuri exhibits an extreme version of this towards "beings" [[spoiler: because a group of them burned down the garden she was born from.]] |
| 217 | * HumongousMecha: [[spoiler: The omake-only POE-Ms are this for their pixie pilots.]] |
| 218 | * ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder: |
| 219 | -->[[spoiler:'''Kayaba:''' "I'm a ghost Kirito-kun, not a god."]] |
| 220 | * IHaveYouNowMyPretty: [[spoiler:Ephialtes and Sigurd do this to Sakuya in Chapter ten of the second arc, the former threatening to rape her and the latter cutting her face to make her uglier. They both indulge in EvilGloating while she's tied up. In a twist they do this while being totally oblivious to the fact that their plans are being ruined utterly.]] |
| 221 | * ImplacableMan: Aki seems to be NighInvulnerable due to her zombie ability to pull herself together. |
| 222 | * ImpoverishedPatrician: The Montmorency family appears to be this. The fact that half their lands disappeared during the Transition didn't help. And they aren't the only family whose fortunes have declined because their lands disappeared and were replaced by Fae settlements that the Treaty of Arrun doesn't allow them to tax. Members of several of those families end up joining Reconquista in the hopes of getting rid of the Fae. |
| 223 | * INeedAFreakingDrink: Mortimer's reaction to learning that [[spoiler:Morgiana is pregnant and his brother is the father.]] [[spoiler:It gets worse when just earlier he implied to be a recovering alcoholic.]] |
| 224 | * INeverToldYouMyName: Monmon's response when Kirito calls her by her nickname [[spoiler: even though the only time they ever met, he was in his "Midori" persona.]] |
| 225 | * InTheBlood: Turns out all Gramont men have a great appreciation for the fairer sex. |
| 226 | * InWhichATropeIsDescribed: The chapter titles, when they appear, are short (often cryptic) summaries. |
| 227 | * IronicEcho: General Eugene and Princess Henrietta during the battle with the Venus Man Eater. |
| 228 | -->General Eugene (saving Henrietta from being eaten): "Stay put and try not to die. I have to kill this first. Then you will answer my questions." |
| 229 | -->Princess Henrietta (healing Eugene after the battle): "Please stay still and try not to die. I have to save you. And then you will please answer my questions." |
| 230 | * ItCanThink: A side-effect of the Transition is that the mobs now have intelligence. While for most it's only a feral kind of intelligence, it does mean that many Fae are initially caught off guard by them no longer following rigid attack patterns. |
| 231 | * ItsRainingMen: It's Raining ''Faeries'' over York during Operation Dunirk, [[RidingTheBomb and they are guiding high explosives!]] |
| 232 | * KillItWithFire: The Fae now have a policy of cremating all of their dead, so that they can't be used as zombies. |
| 233 | * KingInTheMountain: Albion has legends about the Fae queen coming to its aid in an hour of need. Then Asuna and the Knights of Blood show up in the middle of a civil war. |
| 234 | * LandOfFaerie: If a Halkegenia native were to sit in a Fae classroom for a "History of the Homeland" lesson, they would learn of a strange place called "Irael" (IRL) where there is only one moon and it hangs over a bewildering society where even commoners can get fat and numerous worlds are contained within impossibly complicated illusion spells (VMMORPG). |
| 235 | * LastStand: [[spoiler:King James decides to stay behind in Newcastle and fight to the last, mostly so that his more honorable son, Wales, will not.]] |
| 236 | * LessonsInSophistication: [[spoiler: Kirito had to take a crash course in lady-like behavior to better sell his "Midori" disguise during V 2.0's gala. Asuna did not need to because she already did back on earth.]] |
| 237 | * LethalHarmlessPowers: In theory, transformation spells like Kirito's Metamorphosis Baphomet form possess identical stats to the user's Faerie form, which made them unpopular in both high and low level characters. Now that they're in the real world, these spells are more useful, due to simple applications of strength, size, leverage, and mass. It can have some downsides as well though, like being a bigger target. |
| 238 | * LethalJokeCharacter: In SAO Kino' inability to stick to a single set of skills turned him into a MasterOfNone who wasn't worth much in combat and wound up being used by his guild as an errand boy. In Halkeginia, however, his skills have proven to be far more useful, giving him flexibility unmatched by front-runners who specced for full combat builds like Asuna. |
| 239 | * LittleBitBeastly: ALO already had [[CatGirl Cait Sith]], but Halkegenia Online adds three intelligent mobs: the Coinin Sidhe, who have rabbit ears; the Cu Sidhe, who have dog ears and tails; and the Sionnach Sidhe, who have fox ears and tails. |
| 240 | %%%%* LittleMissBadass: Shiori, again. |
| 241 | * LowerDeckEpisode: The story frequently gives a "commoner eye's view" of the situation, if a minor character is involved. It is especially prominent during the attack on York. |
| 242 | %%%%* MadScientist: Hyuuga has her moments. |
| 243 | * MagicMusic: The Puca use Song Magic. |
| 244 | * MagicPants: Averted, to hilarious consequences when "Midori" realizes, in front of a crowd, that her Gleam Eyes Transformation shredded her clothing. |
| 245 | * MakeSureHesDead: Even after [[spoiler: Louise deals the killing blow to Lhamthanc]], the rest of the raid team shower its lifeless body with their full list of spells, just to make sure. There's no HP bar that they can see, after all. |
| 246 | * MamaBear: Morgiana is a frightful adversary under normal circumstances but she gets downright ''scary'' when her guild "children", the Kurotaka, is in lethal trouble. |
| 247 | * ManEatingPlant: The Venus Man Eater is a giant plant, that eats people. |
| 248 | * MapStabbing: After Operation Dunkirk is explained to Morgiana, she does this to the map of Albion as her way of expressing approval of the plan. |
| 249 | * MeaningfulName: WordOfGod says that pretty much every new character in the Tarbes arc has some cheap meaning behind their name. For example; all of the pixies had their names chosen for their meaning in Hanakotoba. According to the author: "So yeah, I've been on cheap name meaning bent this arc." It doubles as a ShoutOut in a few cases. |
| 250 | * MeaninglessVillainVictory: If Sayuri had been allowed to go through with her insane plans in the Tarbes Arc, she would have done nothing more than to attract the ire of the Crown of Tristain and plunged not only her Garden, but the entire Pixie race into an {{Unwinnable}} war with the Humans and the Fae that would have ended with the Pixies at best enslaved, at worst extinct. |
| 251 | * TheMenFirst: Botan states that if worse comes to worst, she will volunteer for the new wilting procedure to ensure it's safe before she lets any of her sisters undergo it. |
| 252 | * TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: The players-turned-fae seem to be slowly undergoing a mental (as well as physical) change toward their racial archetypes. Salamanders don't like cold areas, Undine react adversely to being dry, and Cait Sith seem to be developing ever more profound cat-like instincts and verbal tics. |
| 253 | * MoodWhiplash: "Oh look, the cute little Djinn want to play with us, [[spoiler: Play! Titania! Play!", and then Asuna has a HeroicBSOD.]] |
| 254 | * MoreDakka: Any time grapeshot or canister is used. |
| 255 | ** The Eagle unleashes a broadside into the dock, annihilating everything in its path. |
| 256 | ** Kimura quad-wielding the Eagle's swivel guns. |
| 257 | ** Mortimer's signature spell. |
| 258 | ** Shirishi's darkness bullets. |
| 259 | * MotiveRant: |
| 260 | ** [[spoiler:Fernand]] has one of these in the Tarbes Arc where he [[spoiler: explains that he is the one behind the destruction of Sayuri's garden and is selling off the pixies to enrich himself, and he's doing this to recoup what he lost freeing his former friend from a POW camp.]] |
| 261 | ** [[spoiler:Ephialtes and Sigurd]] also get one in the second arc. [[spoiler: The former is a NEET who despises the other fairies for seeking ways back to the world that rejected him and also for trying to import it here, to what he sees as his escape from "that other world". The latter is just a revenge nut because Sakuya banished him pre-Transition and he got smacked with an uncurable status aliment afterward.]] |
| 262 | * MurderMystery: Poor [[spoiler:Novair.]] He died to start off the second arc and Kirito and Argo investigate how and why. |
| 263 | * MusicalAssassin: The Puca, especially the ones focusing on direct combat rather than support, have this flavor because of their racial traits toward music. |
| 264 | * MyCountryRightOrWrong: Sir Dunwell is a good man who happens to be on the wrong side of the Albionese Civil War. This wouldn't be so much of a problem if it weren't for his [[HeroKiller exceptional prowess as a wind mage]]. |
| 265 | * MyGodYouAreSerious: Karin's reaction to being told about the plan to attack York is to assume the men are goofing off; they are, after all, using ''kitchen utensils'' in a supposed combat map. Then she finds out they are serious and so looks deeper into it. |
| 266 | * NamedWeapons: There's a whole series of RecursiveFanfiction posts naming and describing various legendary weapons. Also Kirito's new blades, the Dual Deciders. |
| 267 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Many of the boss monsters, but the top spot is definitely shared between Octavia the Abyssal Queen and Scylla the Deathly Embrace. |
| 268 | * NiceToTheWaiter: Upon seeing a sign in a post office that the paper is not complimentary, Sir Dunwell reaches into his purse and pays for the sheets he took to write his dispatches without hesitation. The postmaster for that office had commented that most Reconquista soldiers who passed through didn't pay in a previous chapter. |
| 269 | * NightmareFuel: Invoked. Kirito has a nightmare of Asuna, locked in the birdcage, starving to death because he didn't reach her in time. |
| 270 | * NinjaPirateZombieRobot: [[spoiler:Shiori. A trio of possibly mindlinked ninja assassin catgirls who happen to have been one (male) person.]] |
| 271 | * NobodyPoops: As a result of realism, this trope is discussed. Klein (to Leafa's scandal) asks Yui if she has to poop now since she has become a physical existence. She does, and finds it inconvenient but "just biology" and nothing to be embarrassed about. ''Dealing'' with the waste is also a major concern. |
| 272 | * NoBiochemicalBarriers: As part of the general realistic outcomes, this is averted. Medicine that was designed for Fae is HarmfulHealing to humans because of the difference in biology. For instance, [[spoiler: the resurrection potion given to Wales revived him from a critical chest wound but the shock of it almost killed him anyways.]] |
| 273 | * NoConservationOfEnergy: InUniverse as the reason why no one believes that Louise summoned the World Tree and the Fae. |
| 274 | * NoEscapeButDown: |
| 275 | ** How [[spoiler:Wales]] rescues [[spoiler:Caramella]] in York. |
| 276 | ** And again in Newcastle, when trying to get to the docks faster. |
| 277 | * NonActionGuy: Guiche has no fighting experience, and what he can do is limited to golem creation. He makes two game-changing contributions in other ways, such as intel gathering. |
| 278 | * NoodleIncident: Alluded to in Chapter nine of the second arc when Guiche is reunited with his brother. A horse was involved, of course. |
| 279 | * NotSoStoic: Karin gets a faceful of emotional turmoil when all the fears she had been repressing over the years burst out thanks to the side effects of the mana potion. |
| 280 | * NotQuiteTheRightThing: [[spoiler:Kirche attempts to reboot Louise from her HeroicBSOD at the end of the second arc. Only to have both of them step on each other's respective emotional wounds, causing Kirche to reveal the truth about the Transition to her in the worst possible matter in front of Koko, the worst possible person to hear it. In doing so, she only manages to push Louise even closer to the DespairEventHorizon, making her a perfect mark for Julio to manipulate into delivering herself into the Church's clutches. Though let's not forget that Karin's decision to more or less banish Louise to her basement for the rest of her life to keep her ''out'' of danger is what crashed her in the first place.]] |
| 281 | * NotAGame: Mortimer deliberately uses the word "operation" for the Post-Transition raid on the World Tree because it is not a mere "raid". It is real and people could die. |
| 282 | * NuclearOption: [[spoiler:Alicia has unleashed Shiori in response to Albion's plot within Tristain! Some wonder if Albion will still be around after she's done.]] |
| 283 | * OhCrap: |
| 284 | ** What happens to all of the gamers now that ALO is real. Also, to greater extent due to circumstances, Asuna when [[spoiler: she stabs an Albion Rebel in the heart with a dagger, and he chokes for a few seconds before dying without his body disappearing.]] |
| 285 | ** Everyone who sees [[spoiler: Kirito's Gleam Eyes form]] is either terrified or too stunned to take action. It's quite useful for rushing a siege line. |
| 286 | ** [[spoiler:The murder of Novair]] gets everyone in Arrun on edge. |
| 287 | ** A noble retainer has this reactions when he realizes that his lord's plan to entrap a fae girl into indentured servitude by framing her for theft has not only been foiled, but may very well earn him the personal attention of Princess Henrietta unless he takes Leafa and Klein's oh so discreet offer to simply take back the [[spoiler:fake]] silverware and let the matter drop. |
| 288 | ** Mortimer when Ryo [[spoiler:tells everyone that Rip Jack was one of his top assassins]] during the debate. |
| 289 | ** Morgiana when she [[spoiler:finally realizes that she is pregnant.]] |
| 290 | *** And later [[spoiler:Mortimer and Sakuya when she tells them.]] |
| 291 | * OlderThanTheyLook: Many older people playing young avatars got a chance at a second (much longer) life after the Transition. |
| 292 | * OntologicalMystery: The players got trapped in Tristain, with no idea how they got there, who did it, if anyone, and how to return, assuming they can. |
| 293 | * OriginalCharacter: Lots...and though it may be surprising, [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools the fic wouldn't be as good without them.]] |
| 294 | * OrphanageOfLove: The Fae Lords set one up in Arrun for the child players whose parents didn't transition. It is especially vital to players who were "joyriding" their older sibling accounts and are now extremely YoungerThanTheyLook and face possible exploitation. It is staffed by caring volunteers, and run by a kind and motherly caregiver, Irene Sensei. |
| 295 | * OneSteveLimit: Averted, with Shouichi Saitou's granddaughter Nanami, and Nanami, [[spoiler:Shiori's IRL little sister]]. |
| 296 | * OurElvesAreDifferent: Played with, with the former ALO players turned Faeries filling the role of the elves. The Fae, due to originally being humans from the modern world, are generally more open-minded and educated than the people of Halkegenia, and after receiving a bit of time to recreate some of modern Earth's technology, are more advanced, too. Amusingly, the native elves of Halkegenia get hit with this in an omake, the ALO players having out-elved them. |
| 297 | * OutrunTheFireball: Agnes and Caramella jump out of a warehouse just before it blows up. |
| 298 | * OutscareTheEnemy: When fighting the Venus Man Eater, the Salamander lancers are starting to break and flee. General Eugene threatens to kill them if they don't stand their ground. It works. |
| 299 | * PairTheSpares: Kirito's many girls from canon get quite a bit of ShipTease with other characters. He is perfectly happy and satisfied with just Asuna. |
| 300 | * PaperThinDisguise: Kirito and Leafa use handkerchiefs to hide the fact they look like elves. Justified in that it only has to allow them to get to the headmaster before anyone panics (and Tabitha's authority helps significantly). |
| 301 | * PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny: The name 'Kingdom of Albion' has been changed to 'Republic of Albion' post Newcastle. It seems to be the only change that occurred in Albion societal structure. See FullCircleRevolution above. |
| 302 | * PieInTheFace: The first two slices of [[spoiler:Eugene and Morgiana]]'s wedding cake are quite deliberately shoved into Sakuya and Mortimer's faces. |
| 303 | * PlanningWithProps: Nobody thought to return to TheWarRoom to get the actual force tokens, so the Tristain high command had to resort to using spare change, cards, dice, silverware, and anything else they had on hand to substitute while planning out Operation Dunkirk. |
| 304 | * PlatonicLifePartners: WordOfGod states that Leafa and Klein's relationship will be very close but not romantic, although their banter will inspire people to ship them. |
| 305 | * PlayerGuidedMissile: The [[spoiler:"smart bombs" used in York are guided by fairies holding onto them and then flying the heck away at the last second.]] |
| 306 | * PoliceAreUseless: [[spoiler:Argo was able to figure out what happened to Asuna after the SAO incident shortly after she woke up and tried to alert the authorities, only to have them not even ''pretend'' to listen to her. Leading her to assemble the <<Asuna Rescue Team>> and have most of the main cast from Aincrad logged into ALO at the time of the Transition.]] |
| 307 | * PoorCommunicationKills: A lot of grief could have been avoided if the relevant parties just sat together and discussed things openly. |
| 308 | ** Mortimer hiding his knowledge of Rip Jack creates a seed of distrust between the Fae lords, and almost cripples the investigation. |
| 309 | ** The whole mess with [[spoiler:Louise getting a BSOD, deciding to escape, and bind Cardinal]] could have been avoided if Karin simply opened to her daughter. |
| 310 | ** [[spoiler:Heathcliff might have not attacked her]], if Karin had simply taken time to demand [[spoiler:the men surrender and hand over her daughter]], instead of charging in. |
| 311 | %%%* PosthumousCharacter: [[spoiler:Brimir]] |
| 312 | * PreMortemOneLiner: The Count of Tarbes gives an awesome one just before flash-frying [[spoiler:his traitorous butler Fernand.]] |
| 313 | ---> ''[[spoiler: "You may have corrupted it. But this is still my spell! Fernand, for crimes against your Lord and Liege, I sentence you to death!"]]'' |
| 314 | * PrivateMilitaryContractors: As Morgiana says, Spriggans "live and die by the Yurudo." |
| 315 | * PropagandaMachine: Since the Fae can no longer be called Elves, Reconquista's military leaders have taken to calling Faeries demon spawn and abominations merely wearing false humanoid skin, and have cited Kirito's and Morgiana's Beast Forms to support it. |
| 316 | * PurpleProse: Guiche bursts into a hilarious PurpleProse-filled InnerMonologue after first seeing [[GenderBender Midori]]: |
| 317 | ---> ''She was delicate, she was exotic. Skin so pale it was almost translucent, contrasted against jet black hair that spilled down to the middle of her back. Dark golden eyes, strangely shaped but alluring nonetheless, were set into a delicate face with thin crimson lips. Her beauty was enough to make his mind forget to question the peculiarity of such a young woman carrying what seemed to be a sword strapped to her back, or the top of a metal breastplate that peaked out from the collar of her cloak.'' |
| 318 | ** And again after seeing her in a ballgown: |
| 319 | ---> ''The impression of the girl was one of pure midnight. Slender arms adorned with long black gloves that terminated just short of her gorgeously bare shoulders. Slim neck adorned with black pearls. Someone had done up her hair, someone immensely skilled by the looks of it, tied up loosely in a style that was just beginning to grow in popularity. Gown of silky black, overlapped layers of fabric creating an effect that varied between totally opaque and veils of thick smoke near her feet. As a final artistic flourish, a sash tied into a giant butterfly bow had was wrapped around her waist, the overall effect proving quite fancifully endearing.'' |
| 320 | * PutOnABus: |
| 321 | ** Louise. [[spoiler:After disappearing to Romalia at the end of V2, she does not make a single appearance in V3]] |
| 322 | ** Dunwell, who stopped getting an scenes partway through V3, due to his declining popularity and the realization that he's largely irrelevant to the plot, existing mostly just to make the Reconquista [[TokenGoodTeammate not look totally evil.]] |
| 323 | * RankScalesWithAsskicking: Princess Henrietta, and all of the human officers to a varying degree, since most of them are mages. On the Fae side, General Eugene, Asuna, and the faction leaders all kick a significant amount of ass. |
| 324 | * RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: [[spoiler:Just in case you weren't sure that Ephialtes and Sigurd were evil, they both openly gloat about how they are going to rape Sakuya before killing her. Ephialtes also wants to do the same to Leafa. Sakuya herself finds this more despicable than their acts of murder and treason, because it based entirely in malice and selfishness.]] |
| 325 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Midori, [[spoiler:Kirito in his GenderBender disguise]], delivers one to Guiche pertaining to his philandering ways, telling him that he basically whores himself out. |
| 326 | * RecursiveFanfiction: Has spawned stories written by readers that are considered canon to the story. |
| 327 | ** Some readers in the Spacebattles threads have also written a summary/outline for an in-universe play about the source material's SAO arc. |
| 328 | ** One story, ''Fanfic/HalkegeniaOnlineZeroHour'', about Sinon and her life where the ALO incident causes her to never meet Kirito, ended up expanding into its own series which outgrew the [=HalO=] forum threads [[http://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/halkegenia-online-gaiden-story-zero-hour.17011/ and has been given its own]]. Which now is spawning its own fanfiction stories, making them fanfics of a fanfic of a fanfic. |
| 329 | * RedBaron: Every mage has a runic name they are known by, and many Fae have earned various titles of their own. |
| 330 | * RedemptionQuest: Karin volunteers to take a key role in Operation Dunkirk as self-imposed penance for nominating the traitor Wardes to be head of the Griffin Knights. In addition, every single person under her command in the operation is a Griffin Knight hoping to redeem their order after their Captain's treachery. |
| 331 | * RefugeInAudacity: Cromwel's employment of a necromancer, at least going by Matilda's reaction, is mostly passed off on the continent as desperate attempts at vilification and/or attention grab by Tristain and Romalia. |
| 332 | * RevengeBeforeReason: The event that set off the Reconquista rebellion was King James' second son being murdered, and the king promptly executing his daughter-in-law for the crime without holding any sort of investigation or allowing her to defend herself. This outraged her family and their vassals, who refused to believe that she was guilty ([[spoiler:Because she wasn't - her husband was killed by Gallian agents to stir up political turmoil]]) and provided Cromwell with the resources he needed to launch a revolution. |
| 333 | * RidingTheBomb: [[spoiler: The Fae guide their ship-launched bombs to their targets in York by holding onto them and nudging them on the way down. These are the opening shots of Operation Dunkirk.]] |
| 334 | * RougeAnglesOfSatin: Like Gabriel Blessing, homophones are not [=TriggerHappy=]'s strong suit. |
| 335 | * RousingSpeech: Lady Sakuya gives an official address at the end of V1 encouraging all the Fae to work together as a single people to survive and prosper in their new world. |
| 336 | * RunningGag: People calling Caramella "Caramel" and her reaction. |
| 337 | * SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Arguile is killed by Sir Dunwell]] at the Battle of Skiesedge because this has more impact than other, less objectively valuable and important, members of Asuna's Knights of Blood. |
| 338 | * ScienceFantasy: When the virtual reality of ''Sword Art Online'' meets the magic of ''The Familiar of Zero'', the result is a mixture of the two. In this case, since the virtual reality ''was'' in the fantasy genre, the cast of the former have an easier or harder method of fitting into the later; being Faerie, they are thought to be related to the native elves but their true existence as humans in a more scientifically advanced society makes them stand out even more. |
| 339 | * ShaggyDogStory: What SAO's Fairy Dance Arc becomes in this fic, due to the fact that all of Sugou's plans (developing a way to use Full Dive technology for mind control, "marrying" Asuna to seize control of RETCO), are all unceremoniously foiled when Louise summons [=ALfheim=] to Halkegenia. |
| 340 | * ShipperOnDeck: Duke Valliere, of all people, ships Mortimer and Sakuya due to the fact that they cover each other's weakness, politically and militaristically respectfully. |
| 341 | * SilkHidingSteel: How Titania was originally written in ALO lore; she was the patron and protector of the small folk (along with roughly half of the the Fae races), and argued and fought with Oberon on their behalf as often as she supported him in his endeavours. |
| 342 | * ShotgunWedding: [[spoiler:Sakuya and Mortimer's solution to Eugene and Morgiana's "problem".]] |
| 343 | * ShoutOut: Given that the Fae are a gamer community, [[ShoutOut/HalkegeniaOnline they are rather prone to this]]. |
| 344 | * SleepCute: |
| 345 | ** After the events of her kidnapping and going to Mortimer's infirmary room while resting from the events, Sakuya falls asleep right on top of him. |
| 346 | ** Karin looks remarkably cute and peaceful while asleep at her daughter's bed. To the point that Louise needs a reality check to make sure she isn't still dreaming. |
| 347 | * SlidingScaleOfUndeadRegeneration: Cromwell's [[spoiler: Fae zombies]] first appear to be Type II, [[spoiler:with water mages repairing them]]. [[spoiler:They turn out to be [[ImplacableMan Type IV]] later, able to recover from anything short of [[KillItWithFire complete ]][[FireKeepsItDead incineration]].]] |
| 348 | * SneezeCut: In Chapter 4 Part 3, after Karin asks Colbert about Lady Sakuya. |
| 349 | * SoProudOfYou: King James of Albion tells his son, Wales, just what a great prince and son he is, just before sending him off, and Karin to Louise after Dunkirk. |
| 350 | * SpannerInTheWorks: Reconquista's entire plans in the second arc are undone, in part, [[spoiler: by a trio of students and a Faerie sent by the Princess to find some lost Pixies.]] |
| 351 | * StiffUpperLip: Played with. Silica doesn't have the wit characteristic of this trope and she's not ''completely'' blase about being separated from her family ''again'', but her experiences in SAO taught her how to keep cool in a crisis and she exhibits this behavior enough to be [[ThisIsNoTimeToPanic a calming presence on the people around her]]. |
| 352 | * StormingTheCastle: The battle of Newcastle is the siege line advancing to overwhelm the defenders. The defenders, naturally, throw everything to stop them. |
| 353 | * StuffBlowingUp: |
| 354 | ** Explosions happen at TRIST regularly. It's to the point where the staff has yet to purchase any 2s for the "Number of days since last accident" signs. |
| 355 | ** The forces assaulting [[spoiler:La Forace Prison]] use the heavy reinforced door as an improvised claymore. |
| 356 | ** It becomes somewhat of a RunningGag that when Faeries enter Albion something is bound to blow up. |
| 357 | * SuccessionCrisis: Only five of the nine faction leaders were online at the time of the summoning, leaving the remaining races (Puca, Gnomes, Undines, and Imps) in varying states of disarray and confusion. |
| 358 | * SuddenGameInterface: Inverted. It's the sudden lack of the game interface that first reveals that something has gone very wrong with ALO. |
| 359 | * SuicideMission: |
| 360 | ** Operation Dunkirk is, even by those that designed it, a "terrible idea". Lord Mortimer and General Gramont are working very hard to increase the odds as much as possible. |
| 361 | ** Shiori is very much aware that her mission is probably going to kill her. She tries hard not to think about that. |
| 362 | * SuperToughness: |
| 363 | ** All of the Fae have superhuman durability compared to humans. They are nowhere near immortal but something that could outright kill a human will merely do heavy damage to a Fae. |
| 364 | ** [[spoiler:The Ice Giants and Norns of Jotunheim]]. Justified in that they are magically living stone and/or ice. The [[spoiler:Beast Gods]] also have hard shells to protect them. |
| 365 | * SwordAndSorcerer: Shiori's three bodies form a classic RPG trio of a Warrior, Mage and Thief. |
| 366 | * TakeThatAudience: [[spoiler:There were many reviewers who kept asking about Saito; when he was going to show up and complaining about his absence. He was Arguile the whole time, and [=TriggerHappy=] doesn't reveal this until he's dead.]]. See: WhamLine. |
| 367 | * TheTeam: Asuna's Treetoppers [[spoiler:(or more properly, the Knights of Blood)]] quickly develop into one of these. Asuna is [[TheLeader the formal leader]] and Arguile used to be [[NumberTwo her subordinate in the game]], and so he continues that in Halkegenia. Caramella is a strong and determined fighter. [[TheBigGuy Asuna can count on her to do heavy lifting.]] Kimura, the slug, used to be an [=ALO=] admin and so he can [[TheSmartGuy provide Asuna with information about the world.]] Kino, thanks to being unable to settle on a single build in the game, [[JackOfAllTrades can do a little of everything.]] Asuna can basically say "[[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Kino, do the thing]]" and he will be able to do it. |
| 368 | * TemptingFate: In the aftermath of the Gala, Kirito swears that he's never ever going to use his "Midori" faction disguise again; not one more time in his entire life. Not a second passes before Monmon appears and pleads with "Midori" to visit Guiche more often because "she" is such a good influence on him. Asuna isn't sure if Kirito wants to scream or cry. |
| 369 | * TenMinuteRetirement: Kirito is forcing Asuna to stay out of combat post-Dunkirk for the sake of her sanity. She gets a ''little'' better over the following weeks and months. [[spoiler: Then she jumps back into action for the gala security plan.]] |
| 370 | * ThereAreNoTherapists: Halkegenia does not even have a concept of mental illness, other than possibly battle fatigue. Everyone else is "diagnosed as mentally defective" and locked or sent away to be forgotten. On the Fae side, no therapists are seen apart from Yui. |
| 371 | * ThingsGetReal: The Fae volunteers only had minimal training (aside from their MMO days) and no actual battle experience before Operation Dunkirk. |
| 372 | * TimeTravelTenseTrouble:[[spoiler:Skuld's narration from much of her first appearance in the 2.0 epilogue is in the conditional tense due to her not really existing in the present until she loses her connection to the future.]] |
| 373 | * TrappedBehindEnemyLines: Asuna and about 300 other players end up in Albion, in the midst of a civil war. |
| 374 | * TrappedInAnotherWorld: Louise accidentally trapped everyone currently logged into Alfheim Online on Halkegenia. |
| 375 | * TooDumbToLive:[[spoiler:Reconquista's leadership has decided to launch an assault on a Faerie city, something that Dunwell and the more competent military people know full well to be suicide.]] |
| 376 | %% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * UngratefulBastard: Well, Bitch: Sayuri. |
| 377 | * UselessUsefulSpell: In the original series, Louise's default explosions only did some non-lethal damage and destroyed the surroundings. [[spoiler:During the Tarbes arc, she blows up a [[{{Kaiju}} boss]] that required a small army to fight, with a single spell.]] |
| 378 | * VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: Sayuri loses it when not only she loses the leadership of the Pixies to Botan, who was against her insane plans to kill the humans who helped them against the Pixie slaver Fernand, but gets saved from being eaten by a fish by Count Arthur, the human who took care of her fellow Pixies from her home, and all of the Pixies agree with Botan to make peace with the humans and ask her to stop fighting and rest since she's suffering from SurvivorGuilt.]] |
| 379 | * WarArc: Basically the whole story so far, bar the Tarbes Arc, is about preventing or fighting a war. |
| 380 | * TheWarRoom: We see the one in Tristain royal castle. Other fortifications usually have something similar. |
| 381 | %%%* WeaponizedTeleportation: The Blink spell. |
| 382 | %%%* WellIntentionedExtremist: Sayuri |
| 383 | * WhatTheHellHero: Sakuya's response to Mortimer's plan [[spoiler:to capture Rio in order to interrogate him for information regarding Rip Jack]] is to scold him for being too heavy-handed and too oblivious to the backlash of such an action. |
| 384 | * WhamEpisode: |
| 385 | ** Chapter 10, Part 7 of the second arc [[spoiler:Louise casting explosions, with more power and control than ever, using Fae chanting.]] |
| 386 | ** Mortimer postulating that Louise was the one responsible for the Transition is this for everyone in the room. |
| 387 | ** Louise [[spoiler:absorbing the memories of SAO and ALO players]]. |
| 388 | ** 2.0 Chapter 12 part One [[spoiler:Heathcliff finally appears. Yui is now a Maeve.]] |
| 389 | *** And in part three [[spoiler:Heathcliff and Kayaba are now separate people.]] |
| 390 | * WhamLine: [[spoiler:On the gravestone Caramella and Kino erect for the fallen faeries: "Arguile" - '''Hiraga Saito''' - Knight of Aincrad - Guild Member Knights of Blood]] |
| 391 | ** 2.0 Chapter 11: [[spoiler:-->'''Mortimer''': "I purpose that Louise's summoning was successful. Her familiar is nothing less than the Cardinal System."]] |
| 392 | ** In the epilogue of part two: [[spoiler:--> "I am not Human?" Louise askes, "Nay... I am An Incarnate Radius."]] |
| 393 | ** In of all things, the BeachEpisode of 3.0 [[spoiler:''Random Djinn'': "Play! Titania! Play!]] |
| 394 | * WorkingTheSameCase: In 2.0, Louise's search for missing Pixies leads her to a man that Agnes has placed under investigation due to suspected ties with Reconquista. [[spoiler: It then turns out the man is part of a Reconquista conspiracy that is also behind the Fae murders.]] |
| 395 | * WorthIt: In Sakuya's opinion, [[spoiler: seeing SmugSnake Rio getting decked by Regin, the smaller and more timid Puca]] was definitely worth its fallout. |
| 396 | * XanatosGambit: Reconquista's plan in the second arc. [[spoiler: Regardless of whether or not the plan to assassinate Prince Wales and kidnap Princess Henrietta succeeds, the very fact that a Faerie is involved in the plot will do MASSIVE damage to Alliance between the Fae and Tristain.]] And even if the Crown and the Fae move against them in a preemptive strike [[spoiler:doing so would mean that they would lose the only chance they have to root out the Reconquista conspiracy in the Tristainian government before the war begins in earnest.]] |
| 397 | * XDaysSince: If the omakes are to believed, the staff at TRIST has yet to even ''purchase'' any 2s for the 'since last accident' sign. |
| 398 | * YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: So said Asuna unto Suguha when the latter was doubting herself post-Tarbes arc. And all was right with the world. |
| 399 | * YouAreInCommandNow: When her regent Cardinal Mazarin is injured by a field boss and put out of action, Henrietta takes his place at the negotiating table with the Fae as his representative. |
| 400 | * YouCantGoHomeAgain: Currently the only (using meta knowledge) way for the Fae to return to Earth is via Shaitan's Gate, but Vittorio will be extremely reluctant to lose potential new allies, so this outcome seems very unlikely. With an impending baby boom, it might be that, by the time a way becomes available, very few will want to go back anyway. |
| 401 | * YoungerThanTheyLook: Many of the fae are children who were playing ALO with adult avatars. |
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