Characters / Tales of Berseria - Velvet Crowe

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Velvet Crowe

"No mercy!"

Voiced by: Rina Sato (JP), Cristina Valenzuela (EN)

"But even in the depths of despair, only two things mattered to me. The taste of blood-soaked flesh... and revenge upon one man."

Originally a kind and family-oriented girl, Velvet became a vengeful woman fueled by hate due to the traumatic events she went through on the Scarlet Night three years prior to the events of the story. When her brother gets killed by her own brother-in-law Arthur, Velvet vows revenge on him.

She fights with a blade mounted on her right-hand gauntlet, her feet, and her left arm as a daemonic weapon to devour daemons, humans, and malakhim alike.

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• '90s Anti-Hero: Broods a lot about what had happened to her brother, can be sarcastic on the occasion, and is willing to dirty her hands just to get to Artorius.
• Action Girl: As the franchise's first solo female protagonist, it's fitting that Velvet is a vicious fighter.
• Adrenaline Makeover: From keeping her hair tied in the prologue to basically letting it loose in the main game proper.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Does give off this vibe as she doesn't want people to get close to her, and has told the party several times that they could leave her alone.
• Ambiguously Bi: A rare case where she is both Ambiguously Gay and Ambiguously Straight.
  • On the boy side, it's implied she had a crush on Arthur back in her younger years, as Magilou correctly deduced (based on Velvet's surprise and corresponding blush) that Velvet once liked a guy who "was always on the other side of the door, so you could only look at his feet." The anime also plays it up a bit by having her flirt more obviously with Rokurou, but the game itself has her teasing Laphicet about how "I didn't cover my eyes" when she got an eye-full from Rokurou at the bath scene in the Bonus Dungeon. Also, Velvet lustfully purrs while watching Rokurou train with his shirt off. While Velvet makes excuses the first two times she does this, Velvet admits she has no reason to watch Rokurou by the third time, meaning she was watching him train solely out of attraction to his body.
  • On the girl side, many of her interactions with Eleanor also veer into Les Yay given their status as Heterosexual Life-Partners, such as her happily offering to massage Eleanor with sunscreen in a summer DLC skit, but it's Velvet's relationship with Niko that seals it. She once remarked how she'd marry Niko if she were a guy; Niko said the same to her. In Melchior's illusions in Aball, it's revealed her version of an ideal life has (a very affectionate) Niko refusing to marry anyone or even leave the village until Velvet returns, and that's with Velvet in full awareness of Niko having a crush on a young male vet who works out of town.
• An Arm and a Leg: She lost her normal left hand after Artorius cut it off while she's holding onto the ledge and falling towards the hole. She gains it back with extra things.
• And Then What?: Discussed. Every now and then, Velvet is asked what she'll do after she kills Artorius. She never gives the same answer, if she gives one at all; the closest she settles on is "I don't care what happens to me after I kill him." This doesn't last once she learns the full scope of Artorius' plans with the therions, or more specifically, Innominat and his power to suppress emotions of every being on the planet. Part of it is because she's so fixated at first on Artorius' death that she can't think too long-term. The other part is she doesn't know how to deal with Innominat, whose death would kill all the remaining therions in existence; Velvet's fine with her own death, but she can't bring herself to do that to Laphicet, Kamoana, Medissa, and the other therions. She later gets her answer by the end, and that's to give the world a new sense of hope and freedom by sealing Innominat within her and allowing Laphicet to use his purification to free all daemons, including therions, in the world.
• An Odd Place to Sleep: Played for subtle drama. After escaping from Titania, Velvet always sleeps on the ground, sitting upright with her back to something and with one leg tucked in against her chest. This is even when a bed is available, as she spent three years without one in Titania and has grown unaccustomed to sleeping normally. The Abbey likely didn't bother to make sure she was awaken when tossing "food" into her cell, either.
• Anti-Hero: Velvet is not a pleasant person. She frequently says "I'll use any tool at my disposal," even if that tool is other people. She's cold, bitter, and driven by revenge, and she isn't on a quest to save the world; she's out to kill one man, damn the consequences to anyone else. This changes the further into the game she goes, and while she's still ruthless, Character Development mellows her out greatly.
• Arch-Enemy: Her greatest enemy, and the target of her rage, is Artorius Colbrande, her brother-in-law and "holy" Shepherd of the Abbey. Her desire to kill him and avenge the death of her brother forms the premise of the game and drives most of her actions in the story. However, her overall feelings toward him are more complex than at first glance. Velvet still respects Artorius enough to defend his honor when the party erroneously believes he's just a two-bit Omnicidal Maniac when they learn more about Innominat from Grimoirh in the Titania prison. Later on in the game, she is confronted with images of Artorius' life before his Start of Darkness, and after denying it at first, finally and tearfully admits that in spite of everything he's done, she still loves her brother-in-law, and says that her image of the man she knew as Arthur was the compassionate Nice Guy who married her older sister, not the dogmatic and delusional Knight Templar of modern day. When she finally kills him, she doesn't roar with triumph or howl maniacally; she instead cries, mourning the loss of the Arthur she loved.
• The Atoner: It becomes increasingly clear that Velvet is wracked with pretty intense guilt and remorse over her actions, to the point of self-loathing, and she struggles to reconcile her need for revenge with her loyalty to the party and her allies. She even says privately to Eleanor that part of her wants to give hope to the world. At the very end, once she finally gets her revenge, Velvet undergoes a Deep Sleep to seal Innominat away and allows the party to "help the world I ruined," imploring Laphicet to "help people like me. Help the weak." Daemon or not, her conscience never left her even to the very end.
  • One of her biggest examples of this is shown when she meets Niko's dogs; she understands why they're mad at her killing their owner, and says they can rip her apart however they want after she kills the man who indirectly caused her to kill Niko by turning her into a therion. In her side quest, she makes a quiche with a special recipe that she always wanted to teach Niko to cook, but never could. She gives it to the dogs and says they should take that with them when they reunite with Niko in a world Velvet freely admits she can't ever go. Velvet even politely rejects Laphicet trying to console her because she doesn't think Niko would approve.
• Badass Adorable: She is a beautiful woman who is both a badass and dorky mixed together.
• Badass and Child Duo: The badass to Laphicet's child. She will gut you if you decide to harm him, as Rokurou found out.
• Badass Boast:
  • As she breaks out of Titania, she exclaims: "Velvet Crowe. That is my name; make sure Artorius knows. I will devour daemon, malak, and exorcist alike. I Am a Monster! I am a therion!"
  • In Meirchio, she scares the villagers off with "I am corruption made flesh! I am Velvet, the Lord of Calamity!" In this case, it was exploited to get the villagers to run away and inform the Abbey of where she was.
• Badass Longcoat: It's tattered, but she wears a black one.
• Bare Midriffs Are Feminine
• Barrier Maiden: It is revealed that being turned into a therion made Velvet into this. While in Titania, she was being used to consume a massive amount of malevolence there.
  • When Kamoana was removed from Palamedes, Haria Village's residents turned into daemons very quickly. Velvet finds out that there were similar consequences after she escaped from Titania upon her return.
  • After the final boss, she seals herself with Innominat, constantly feeding it malevolence while Laphicet's busy being Maotelus.
• Big Sister Instinct: Towards her brother Laphicet, and the malak Laphicet. It's her brother's death that drives her into a blind rage, vowing to kill Artorius for it. She eventually comes to develop the same feeling for the malak Laphicet, whom she nicknames "Phi" to differentiate the two. When she's caught in a Lotus-Eater Machine and thinks her brother is still alive for a time, Velvet instantly reverts to big-sister mode, which catches a few of her party members off-guard.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: Her primary weapon is a wrist blade that she can use to slice or stabs her enemies, depending on the attack.
• Blade Lock: Engages with this a few times with Oscar, Artorius, and her brother Laphicet.
• Boob-Based Gag: There isn't much breast-related humor in the game, but what's there comes at Velvet's expense, and about the only time she cares about her outfit is when someone mentions her boobs.
• Break the Cutie: Goes from a cheerful and sweet young woman to a quiet cynical revenge-hungry ball of anger after witnessing her little brother's murder and Artorius cutting off her arm.
• Broken Bird: As a result of her brother's murder, Velvet turned from a happy and kind girl into a bitter loner.
• Brutal Honesty: She will not hold back how she really feels, what she wants, or what she'll do to reach her goals. If she has to kill, she'll freely and coldly let everyone know about it in case she reaches a point where it's necessary to sacrifice anyone.
• Butt-Monkey: Shared between her and Magilou, with the two of them going tit-for-tat pushing each other's buttons during skits (see Dude, Where's My Respect?).
• Byronic Hero: She's cunning, powerful, and intelligent, but she's also very cynical, brooding, and spiteful. It's her intense passion for revenge that drives the events of the game.
• Cain and Abel
  • The Abel to Artorius' Cain, as Artorius is her brother-in-law (and she certainly sees him as a regular brother).
  • Becomes the Cain to Laphicet's Abel once he comes back as Innominat.
• Cannibalism Superpower: Her left hand can absorb powers from things that she eats, like how she gains fire powers and destroy seals when she eats Seres. In-game, she recovers some HP if her left hand is out and she kills enemies.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Played with, as she's actually The Hero. Despite that, her Arch-Enemy is a Villain with Good Publicity, and she's basically the Big Bad as far as society is concerned. Seeing no other way around it, she decides to cultivate the image of a Chaotic Evil enemy of humankind, and basically decided "ehh, fine, Then Let Me Be Evil."
• Cast from Hit Points: After using Consuming Claw on an enemy, Velvet becomes "theronized", keeping her daemon arm out until she exits the state. In this form, Velvet can't be KOed, is immune to staggering, bad status effects are nullified, her chance to stun enemies is greatly increased, and she gains some other perk (such as taking half damage) as well as a powerful combo finisher depending on the type of enemy she first hit with the claw. The downsides are that she can't recover HP in this form, and her health constantly drains, leaving her as low as one HP. When she inevitably exits Claw mode, she'll be left vulnerable if a player left her in this mode for too long.
• Catchphrase: Velvet frequently warns people that "I'll devour you" if they don't do what she wants.
• Character Development: Velvet undergoes the most changes of any character in the party not named Laphicet. She starts off as a cold, aloof, and bitter revenge-driven older sister, spurned only by her hatred for one man and uncaring of the consequences of her actions as long as they get her to him. As she grows more attached to Laphicet, she becomes a slowly Defrosting Ice Queen with a slight Tsundere streak, a Team Mom outlook despite herself, and an emphasis on a Hidden Heart of Gold-hiding facade to keep people from getting close to her. After facing the lowest moment of her life with Innominat, she descends into a raving lunatic, violently lashing out at anything and everyone, while maniacally denying every image shown to her about Artorius' Start of Darkness. Thanks to Laphicet, she snaps out of her predicament and finally reconciles her lingering love and seething hatred for Artorius and Innominat (whom her brother was used to reincarnate), and becomes more at peace with herself. She still wants revenge, but does it for her own sake, not for the sake of the men who tormented her all these years; her revenge becomes paired with ultimately saving the world from Innominat by arguing in favor of The Evils of Free Will; her selfishness becomes more about finding her own identity and maintaining her free will; and her ruthlessness, while still there, is toned down considerably, as she both Took a Level in Kindness and Took a Level in Cheerfulness. By the end, she's almost completely back to being the snarky Nice Girl she used to be as a kid, and it's a change many characters, from Tabatha and the Prince to the party all note.
• Character Tics: She taps her index finger against her left arm when she is confused or flustered during conversations.
• Childhood Friends: With Niko. There's even some Les Yay between them, owing to Velvet being Ambiguously Bi.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Of the non-romantic sort towards Laphicet when he becomes Eleanor's malak. She even makes him swear she is number one, while Eleanor is number two, before realizing how dumb she is acting.
• Clothing Damage: A rather extreme example due to wearing only one set of clothes for three years and needing to fight whatever monsters sent down into her prison.
• Combat Pragmatist: Velvet keeps a hidden blade in her shoe just to have an extra weapon should she need it. She'll also kick the crap out of her enemies while they're in the middle of a conversation or distracted by something.
• Contrasting Sequel Protagonist: Sorey is a hero raised by Seraphim, becomes the Shepherd, and faces the Lord of Calamity before becoming a Seraph. Velvet is an Anti-Hero raised by humans, becomes a daemon, and fights a "legendary Shepherd" while going down in history as a Lord of Calamity.
• Cool Big Sis: She was this to her younger brother. She appears to try taking on this role for Laphicet, which becomes more of a Cool Aunt situation once Laphicet's origins are revealed.
• The Corruption: Her chopped arm became a giant dark claw that devours people. As the story continues and she keeps doing her deeds, there is a malevolent aura slowly growing that is hinted to be dangerous in her own words, which signifies her ascension to the first Lord of Calamity.
• Covert Pervert: A more downplayed version. There are three different Inn Skits where Rokurou gets a Shirtless Scene as he trains his Rangetsu Style. In the third skit, she looks at him and hums with interest. He notices and asks if she has anything in mind for him. She says she doesn't, basically admitting she just stared at his Shirtless Scene for the sake of it. This is more pronounced after the Bath Scene in the EX Bonus Dungeon, when everyone's souls are transferred to different bodies in the hot spring, Eleanor, who's in Rokurou's body, stands up in outrage, insisting that Rokurou quit checking her figure out. This happens right in front of Velvet, who's in Laphicet's body, and she gets an eye-full of Rokurou's body. She blushes, looks away, and says "don't stand up!" When Laphicet discusses it with her, Velvet coyly admits she didn't cover her eyes at all when she saw the guys, much to Laphicet's chagrin.
• Cursed with Awesome: She can't taste anything but blood anymore and is constantly hungry, but she gets a red left hand that can eat things and absorb whatever powers that the person has.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Double Subverted. She wears mostly dark clothing, has terrifyingly dark powers and is both a Nominal Hero and a Byronic Hero that can be very ruthless and makes her sometimes look villainous. However, her main opposition are examples of Light Is Not Good like Artorius that has wronged her greatly, and compared to him, she definitely is heroic. Not to mention she eventually used her dark powers to save the world after a bit of development about her goals.
• D-Cup Distress: Downplayed, especially since Velvet's bust is only ever referred to indirectly, but she does get noticeably defensive and snippy (even for her) whenever the size of her breasts is mentioned.
• Deadpan Snarker: Her go-to attitude for the general absurdity that often surrounds her is to lay on the snark. Magilou gives her plenty of ammo.
• Death Glare: Throws Rokurou one in an early-game skit after they talk about the kind of daemon she is and he compares her to a hag. The skit just shows her standard angry/annoyed portrait, but Rokurou calls it convincing.
• Deep Sleep: In order to help save the world, Velvet seals herself away with Innominat so that Laphicet, as Maotelus, can purify the planet.
• Determinator: She will kill Artorius, no matter what. Even if she's called a monster by the planet, impaled, stabbed, beaten, or tortured for years in a dark prison cell. It won't matter; Velvet will get her revenge. She eventually succeeds by stabbing Artorius with his own sword.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: It starts pretty early on once she meets Laphicet, and through her interactions with him, Velvet starts growing less vicious and cold hearted, culminating in her giving him a nickname, Phi, to reflect her increasing willingness to soften herself up to the party. While still ruthless, she mellows out considerably and becomes a full fledged friend to the party, especially after Laphicet and Eizen snap her out of a Heroic BSoD.
• Despair Event Horizon: On top of everything else that's happened to her, seeing Innominat as Laphi, hearing him call her out on everything she's done, then learning he had actually volunteered to be sacrificed making everything she did All for Nothing nearly drove her over the edge completely, only finally being snapped out of it by Laphicet and Eizen. This is actually an invoked trope, as the Abbey wants her to break to collect her Malevolence of Despair.
• Difficult, but Awesome: Velvet is pretty easy to pick up and play, which is normal for a Tales Of protagonist, but as with other protagonists in the series, like Yuri or especially Asbel, whom Velvet compares to easily given their similar combat styles, ^note Asbel's A and B Artes are conceptually similar to Velvet's Martial and Hidden Artes, which tracks given Berseria's gameplay is an evolved form of Grace's own. the player will get the most out of using Velvet by mastering the combat system. Velvet has the best rushdown Arte in the game with Water Snake's Wake and has an Arte for any situation once she reaches melee, but really demonstrates her power when her risk-reward gameplay is actively utilized with her Break Soul. Also like Asbel, Velvet is defined by having the widest variety of elements and effective attacks of anyone in the party, which both encourages the player to engage with the weakness-hitting gimmick the game has but by the same token also creates an expectation that the player will eventually feel comfortable doing just that regularly. Tellingly, in speedruns of the game, Velvet is already considered the perfect player character to use because of the obscene levels of damage she can reach if she's mastered.
• Double Think: When she becomes trapped in a Lotus-Eater Machine version of her home village, Velvet is fully aware the illusion isn't real. But she so desperately wants it to be real that she gives in once she sees a seemingly-alive Laphicet in her house. It doesn't last long as reality hits her in the face, after which she removes the illusion for good.
• Dramatic Dislocation: After jumping from the top of the watchtower to a pathway, injuring her right shoulder in the process, she smacks her shoulder on the cliff and partially fixes it. Seres fixes the rest by healing her.
• The Dreaded:
  • Becomes this as the story progresses, once her deeds become more noticeable. This culminates in Velvet earning the title of "Lord of Calamity". Velvet exploits this at one point, leaning into Evil Is Hammy while making the residents of a town flee in terror when she announces her presence.
    Velvet: I am corruption made flesh! Velvet, the Lord of Calamity!
  • In a more comical way, she is this to White Turtlez who soils himself whenever they encounter.
• Dual Wielding: An interesting variant, she wields an arm blade and a foot blade.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: You'd think being the 'Lord of Calamity' would be enough to make Magilou think twice about trifling with her. Not happening. Magilou repeatedly uses Velvet for her own amusement.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Velvet appeared in Episodes 5 and 6 (or 6 and 7 if you include the prologue episode) of Tales of Zestiria the X, before Berseria was released on August 18 in Japan.
• Empowered Badass Normal: She could already kick ass before becoming a daemon, able to effortlessly take down wild prickleboars.
• Energy Ball: She forms a ball at her left hand and smashes it towards rising lava, awakening the four elemental Empyreans and freeing all the malakhim in the world. Her 3rd Mystic Arte gives her something similar.
• Establishing Character Moment: Her personality post-imprisonment is neatly summed up when she reaches the supply room: she puts together an outfit that simply serves to cover up her lady parts with nary a thought for how she looks, takes a thing of rope with her because it could be useful, and leaves behind an insanely famous and valuable sword because it's not going to be convenient for her to use.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • Played for Laughs with one specific hang-up. The Anti-Hero Velvet, who has no qualms killing anyone who gets in her way and using people like tools, won't drink alcohol because she's 19, which is under the legal drinking age.
  • Played for Drama everywhere else. She still has a strong conscience and expresses genuine remorse over what she does at several points throughout the course of the game, and she often speaks out against the actions of Artorius, the Abbey, and anyone else who crossed a red line even she won't agree with.
• Exposed to the Elements: She's wearing a ripped and Stripperiffic outfit. In the frozen Northgard, several characters comment on this. Of course, being a daemon, the cold doesn't bother her.
• Facepalm: One of her emotes in the skits involve her placing her hand on her head irritably, similar to Eleanor, who looks up while Velvet looks down. The difference is that this same pose has been used to indicate frustration (like when she's trying to figure out Artorius' motive) or embarrassment (usually whenever Magilou trolls her).
• Facepalm of Doom: In her second Mystic Arte she does this after stabbing her enemy with her wrist blade. She also does it to Seres when she first meets her after the time skip.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: Especially on her legs, where she has one armored boot and the other leg completely exposed. One of her arms is also covered in bandages to cover her demonic arm. They come off when she fights with it.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Combined with Odd Friendship, her best friend and most trusted teammate is not her Morality Pet Laphicet, but her erstwhile rival and foil Eleanor Hume, who befriends her after becoming uneasy companions by circumstance. While it applies to the whole party, it especially counts for Velvet and Eleanor as they become The Confidant to one another. Once Eleanor's side quest is finished, she has one final talk with Velvet just before the final dungeon, and in it, Velvet even says, with complete sincerity, "We're a lucky to have you with us, Eleanor."
• Friend to All Children: Even as the Lord of Calamity, she still cares deeply about kids. This goes beyond her brother and Laphicet. She grows to care for Kamoana, consoles her with a hug once she cries about her mom, and willingly finds and opens her chest at her request. She also encourages Laphicet to help cure Videl of his illness, and immediately insists that he should go inside his house so he doesn't get colder once she finds out he even has an illness. She also never raises her voice at the kid Non Player Characters, unlike all the other times she does to adults and authority figures.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: In the prologue, a sweet Cool Big Sis from a small, quaint village. In the present, the Lord of Calamity who everyone fears.
• Giver of Lame Names: Her nicknames are either abbreviations or Line-of Sight Names. Or insults, in Magilou's case.
• Glass Cannon: Velvet's hits very fast and hard with her Martial and Hidden Artes, especially when she can use her Therion claw to forcibly extend her combos. However, she has the lowest Artes Defense growth of the party, making her vulnerable to Hidden and Malak artes. Her Red Right Hand enforces this by allowing huge amounts of damage but at the cost of her losing HP every second, draining faster the higher her damage output is. While she can't be KOed while her demon arm is out since she can't fall below 1 HP, it'll leave her very vulnerable as soon as her combo ends. She becomes a Lightning Bruiser in practice if she can keep her soul count high enough to reactivate her Therion mode.
• Greater-Scope Villain: An In-Universe example. She's the first Lord of Calamity, a title carried over into Zestiria as someone who produces malevolence in great amounts.
• Grin of Audacity: She flashes one of these in the aftermath of the thrashing she received by Artorius in their first fight, signaling her quest for revenge is far from over. It's the first time she smiles since the prologue.
• Growling Gut: In one of the many comedic skits, a hungry Magilou tries to avoid having to admit to wanting something to eat by asking Velvet about her own hunger in an insensitive, roundabout way. When the party admits to wanting to stop for food, she denies her hunger and smugly tries to make fun of them for getting fired up about food... only for her roaring stomach to give her away.

H-N

• Had to Be Sharp: She was Book Dumb during the prologue as she didn't understand things that Laphicet was introducing her to, like the compass. After the time skip, however, she'll think of what to do before executing her plan.
• Had to Come to Prison to Be a Crook: Before going to prison: a woman in high spirits and a fun-loving big sister to everyone. After being imprisoned for three years: jaded, cynical, and wants nothing but revenge.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: Subverted, Velvet uses a hidden wrist blade and shoe blade in combat, though she also uses her legs and Demonic arm.
• Heroic BSoD: When Velvet learns the truth of what happened on the second Scarlet Night from Artorius and Laphicet/Innominat, and sees flashbacks of what caused Artorius' Start of Darkness, she becomes distraught to the point of despair. Her desire for revenge turns out to be all for nothing. As Laphicet/Innominat tries to suck her into a portal, Malak Laphicet grabs her and gives her a big lecture about the will to live that snaps her out of it.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: More 'Anti''-Heroic, but the point remains. Her deep guilt and remorse over what she's done, and her sincere belief that she's just a "selfish, horrible girl" for being so willing to sacrifice even the ones she loves for revenge, take a toll on her mind, as it's the one thing she can't reconcile or accept and the one thing she can't fully come to terms with. It becomes closer to self-loathing, as she rejects Laphicet's offer to turn her back into a human because she believes she doesn't deserve that humanity. The rest of the party, Eizen and Rokurou among them, argues it's that exact trait (along with her determination and ability to love and hate at once) that makes her human to begin with. Laphicet even forgives her for it, and Velvet looks just about ready to cry before thanking him.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Though her heroic status is debatable, she does go on to defeat the real Big Bad and save the world. But all she will be known for is as The Lord of Calamity, outside of the few people who really got to know her.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners:
  • She was very close to Niko, her childhood friend, to the point of Pseudo-Romantic Friendship given how often they flirted with each other. This sadly doesn't last long on the life part, due to Velvet unwittingly causing Niko's death in the prologue.
  • Despite a rocky start, Velvet befriends Eleanor, and the two form arguably the closest bond in the party; Velvet entrusts Eleanor with very private information the rest of the party doesn't know about her. Their eerie similarities help ease some tension in the second half of the game, where their initial animosity is replaced by more playful and friendly banter. They stop pretending not to care for one another, they drop their initial jealousy over Laphicet, and they each become The Confidant to the other. Even when they were still uneasy allies, Velvet went out of her way to ensure Eleanor was safe and this was before she learned about malevolence and how it affected Laphicet, defended her honor against Oscar, and often did what she could to make sure Eleanor was feeling better about herself. All this long before she learned about malevolence and how it affected Laphicet. They're both even shown standing next to each other in skits much more often than before to reflect that, and each gives the other either You Are Better Than You Think You Are or You Are Not Alone speeches to the other. The game even pokes fun at the "heterosexual" part by having an achievement poke fun at how Eleanor is checking Velvet out after completing a side quest.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: Although she's the Lord of Calamity, the sweet kid she used to be is still there, and manifests in different ways at different points behind that aloof, detached, and aggressively sarcastic demeanor. Long before she ever fully befriends Eleanor, Velvet voluntarily checks in on her status after eating saleh'toma, and shows relief when told she's doing well, but when confronted about it, immediately says it's not like she cares about her or anything. She's also mightily disturbed at some of her actions, like accidentally plunging malevolence to Haria Village after removing Kamoana, and empathizes with even her enemies once finding out they have families to care for. She finally drops the "hidden" part after recovering from a Heroic BSoD and coming to terms with her chaotic heart.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: Velvet goes down in history as a Lord of Calamity, despite being the hero who saved the world from the true villains, the Exorcists. Mind you, Velvet herself embraced the title and made sure her enemies and the masses would call her that.
• Hope Bringer: While she's The Dreaded to the masses, Velvet becomes this to the enemies of the Abbey, and through no deliberate effort of her own. Her iron will and her unrelenting pursuit of her objective in spite of the sheer lunacy of it stands as a source of inspiration and admiration to those on her side. Each of her allies eventually come to respect her unyielding nature and find themselves driven forward by it. Conversely, both times she seems ready to give up, when she's in a Lotus-Eater Machine and after crossing the Despair Event Horizon, her allies suffer a loss of morale and cohesion.
• How Do I Shot Web?: Played with. She can use her powers just fine, she just doesn't understand why she can temporarily absorb the attributes of her victims, which is unique even among therions. The answer is given in a late-game sidequest: when she ate Seres, she also consumed an unfinished experimental armatus along with her. What she does all game is a brutal, one-sided proto-Armitization.
• Humanoid Abomination: Besides being a daemon who still looks like a human, just with a mutated arm, it's revealed the therions are avatars of Innominat, the prophesied eight heads; her very existence is feeding his revival.
• Hunter of His Own Kind: She's a daemon who feeds on other daemons. Her transformation also made it so the only thing she can taste is blood.
• Hypocrite: Quite a few of the things Velvet accuses Eleanor of (in particular her tendency to feel far more responsibility for everything than she needs to) can be applied truly, or at least equally, to Velvet herself
• Hypocritical Humor: She sometimes complains about what other people eat, despite not being able to taste anything but blood and having a Cannibalism Superpower.
• I Am a Monster: She's pretty forward about it early-on, but Innominat revealing everything she did was All for Nothing made her seriously consider herself a monster, complete with a Heroic BSoD.
• Idiot Hair: She had this hairstyle when she was younger, before being imprisoned on Titania. If you look closely at her model, you can see that the cowlick is still present after Titania, it just lays almost flat instead of sticking upright.
• Ignored Epiphany: Subverted. During her Heroic BSoD she goes into complete Laughing Mad denial over the newly revealed Awful Truth that her brother was willingly sacrificed to be reincarnated into Innominat and that Artorius had sympathetic reasons, but it's clear she's desperately lying to herself, and eventually she collapses and admits that it's all true falling into the Despair Event Horizon until Laphicet shakes her out of it. When she returns, she still wants revenge, but because Artorius treated her like irrelevant dirt to his plan to save the world, and because Innominat's World of Silence is horrifying.
• If I Do Not Return: Prior to the final battle, Velvet confides to Eleanor the likelihood of her not surviving the aftermath. She asks Eleanor to look after Laphicet if anything happens to her, and Eleanor accepts.
• Immune to Flinching: When Velvet brings out her demon claw in battle, she can't be stunned or staggered. She still takes full damage from enemy attacks; she just can't be interrupted.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Artorius impales her in his Hopeless Boss Fight, though that still doesn't stop her from trying to pull off a surprise attack on him. She later returns the favor after the final boss battle by impaling him with the same sword.
• Indy Ploy: Her plan is "kill Artorius". How exactly she gets to that point is made up as she goes.
  • When first entering into Loegres, Magilou introduces them as a group of traveling magicians. Velvet goes along with it pretty smoothly when she recognizes what Magilou is doing, though it does require Velvet to act like a dove (which Magilou doesn't let Velvet forget).
  • Upon reaching Meirchio, Velvet wants to clear out the town and lure the Abbey there, but has no idea how to do that. Once a daemon shows up, it gives Velvet a convenient opportunity to force the villagers to flee and let the Abbey know where she is.
• Irony: While Velvet Crowe is the Chaos and Emotion to Artorius' Order and Reason, much of her decisions follow a coldly logical and pragmatic way of thinking. When she goes to Meirchio, she needs the nearby volcano to use as a launch pad to reincarnate the Empyreans to suppress Innominat. She also needs to goad the Legates, the two strongest Exorcists behind Shepherd Artorius, so she can devour them and use their souls as sacrifices to that end. She reveals she's the Lord of Calamity and scare the entire town, thereby forcing the Legates to respond. Eleanor compliments Velvet for choosing not to get the villagers involved, but Velvet points out that it wasn't entirely for their sake and she upended their livelihoods already. Eleanor still thanks her for it anyway. By all measures, it was a success, as Melchior and Shigure both arrive at Meirchio, which becomes the new home of the Therions and pirates working with Velvet, and the sacrifices are enacted in the volcano with no civilian casualties
• It's All My Fault: Zig-zagged. Velvet owns up to the fact that removing Kamoana from Palamedes caused the villagers of Haria Village to succumb to malevolence, but the group does point out the malevolence is generated by the people themselves, so they are to blame as well.
• It's Personal: Towards Artorius for killing her brother. Eventually, towards Innominat too, once he tries to psychologically break her.
• It Will Never Catch On: She had this reaction with human Laphicet toward the compass.
• Kick Chick: She frequently attacks with her feet, either by kicking her enemies or using hidden blades in her shoes to cut them.
• Last Request: Invokes this trope by name when she's in the last stages of falling into her eternal slumber with Innominat. She asks Laphicet to live his life to the fullest and to watch over mankind.
• The Leader: Thanks to her motivation being her Roaring Rampage of Revenge against Artorius. She more or less gains a leadership position on the Van Eltia with Benwick looking to both her and Eizen for orders. The skills she provides the scout ship of the Van Eltia even refers to her as 'Mistress'.
• Leitmotif: Theme of Velvet, a somber rendition of the main theme to highlight an individual with an unwavering will who is also broken by her past.
• Lethal Chef: Subverted. You would think she is this after she lost her sense of taste for food, she is a great cook despite the handicap. Probably because she had to do all of the cooking when she was a village girl.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: The dark to Eleanor's light.
• Loony Friends Improve Your Personality: She gets less abrasive and stiff as time goes on thanks to the rest of the party. Notably, she stops threatening to kill Magilou for annoying her, just accepting her eccentric personality for what it is.
• Lotus-Eater Machine: Subjected to this more than once.
  • When she returns to her home village of Aball halfway through the story, not only are all the villagers still alive, but so is her little brother. Velvet's aware it's all fake, but she so desperately wants it to be real that she buys into it for a time.
  • To beat Innominat, she seals herself with him; she eternally devours him and he eternally devours her. In this state, Velvet dreams of an ideal world, where her allies don't have the baggage they do in the real world (Aifread is not turned into a daemon, Eizen is still seen by his crew, Magilou isn't under Melchior's thumb, Niko is alive, etcetera), and where even her enemies are living happy, normal lives (Oscar and Teresa are both alive and friends with Eleanor, Shigure and Rokurou actually bond like brothers, and even Artorius himself is living peacefully with his wife and son). Phi's appearance at the end of the dream, where modern-day Velvet and Innominat are staring at the sky, implies the dream may be maintained by him and that it's not a product of the sealing itself.
• Mama Bear: Is very protective of Laphicet, which is shown in some skits when she makes Magilou back off from her pranking or confiscating Bienfu's books because he was sharing inappropriate material with him.
• Many Spirits Inside of One: All those she consumes continue to reside within her afterwards and can even converse with her. The four Praetors are released in the ending to reincarnate as the four elemental Empyreans.
• Morality Pet: The entire rest of the party and particularly Laphicet serve this role for Velvet. While she remains generally ruthless, aggressive, and snarky, her Character Development stems from her interaction with the party, and she becomes noticeably softer, happier, and generally kinder towards the party and people in general, and is more willing to use less destructive and suicidal means to accomplish her goals if someone in the party offers her an alternative.
• Ms. Fanservice: Velvet is accompanied by a number of fan-servicey design choices, perhaps most notably underboobs in her barely there outfit. Justified due to how she was imprisoned for three years without a change of clothes. The best she could do after she escaped was putting together the scraps of another prisoner's clothing. Since Velvet doesn't care how she looks and also isn't affected by natural heat or cold she feels no need to get something more conservative to wear later either. Personality-wise, the game is fully aware that her cold demeanor has a certain appeal to it.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • After kidnapping Teresa and forcing Oscar to drop his weapon in exchange for her life, Velvet ends up killing Oscar and Teresa when they both attack anyways. This completely rattles Velvet, as she believes she's become no better than Artorius.
  • She gets another moment of this after finding out the Awful Truth of the second Scarlet Night as she realizes all the horrible things she's done and her quest for revenge has been All for Nothing.
  • This is a consistent trend with her, as it is paired with Then Let Me Be Evil. It's the one thing she can't really reconcile about herself, and she grows to hate herself for being The Unfettered. She accepts the Awful Truth and reconciles that with her conflicting feelings of Artorius and her brother, but her conscience never let her rest, because much of what she does, from Aball to Haria and Meirchio, to Seres, Oscar, Teresa, and Niko, just to name a few, eat at her mind as guilt seeps in and she feels she's not worth saving. She's genuinely sorry at what she's done, even before she learns it was All for Nothing as seen by how much her actions in Aball and Haria disturbed her the moment she realizes what she's done. While it nearly gets her killed in a Heroic BSoD, she's spurned back into action by Phi and eventually becomes The Atoner who helps save the world from Innominat after finally getting her revenge, even if she's never remembered for her deeds except by the few who knew her personally.
• My Greatest Failure: As Velvet gets trounced by Artorius the first time they fight, Laphicet can't understand why she's so adamant about fighting when she's losing so badly. Velvet tearfully admits she feels responsible for failing to protect her brother from Artorius, implying that her drive for revenge is a defense mechanism that helps her to keep going. Then she learns her brother willingly sacrificed himself and became Innominat's vessel, and she completely loses her mind, only snapping out of it due to Eleanor and Laphicet bringing her back to sanity by reminding her that she's a better person than she thinks and that she has more to live for than just revenge.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: Her main outfit has a huge cutout in the middle that leaves her Underboobs and midriff exposed, save for some laces holding the outfit together.
• No Sympathy: Just before absorbing Seres, she says she offers no thanks or apology for what she is. One of her victory quotes even has her state her enemies won't get any compassion from her.
• Not Hyperbole: When Velvet says she'll use any tool at her disposal, she is not exaggerating. At all. She'll destroy a town's livelihood, leave people to die, and steal in plain view of people she's stealing from in order to get what she wants.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: Velvet is waging a war against an oppressive order that seeks to eliminate The Evils of Free Will and in so doing saves both humanity and malakhim from eternal slavery, but she only does this to meet her personal objective of killing Artorious, and later on to be true to her own free will. This is why she won't forgive herself for being a Destructive Saviour; the saving was a side benefit to satisfying her personal need for revenge, so she feels she can't claim credit for having done it.
• No-Sell: It's heavily implied her power as a Therion and Lord of Calamity has been counteracting most of the effects of Eizen's Reaper Curse for the party.
• Not So Above It All: Often times, Velvet can be found joining in on group gossip, repeatedly shows she's every bit as a dork as some of her teammates, takes part in girl gossip about Eizen's love life, often comments about the party's romantic interests (like saying it's boring how Eleanor didn't actually fall in love with Eizen), enjoys being The Tease to her brother and female teammates (particularly Eleanor), and often talks about cooking, cleaning, love, and sex (albeit subtly) with Magilou and Eleanor pretty freely, among other things.
• "Not So Different" Remark:
  • Part of Velvet's Character Development involves realizing this about herself and Artorius. Though they went in opposite directions in terms of methods, Velvet and Artorius both act the way they do because it is the only alternative to crossing the Despair Event Horizon over the events of the first two Scarlet Nights.
  • Of all people, she's most similar to Eleanor, who has the same interests in cooking and cleaning, the same motherly nature, the same Unstoppable Rage when confronted by the target of her revenge, the same motivation being borne of a murdered relative, and the same guilt at accidentally killing loving family members when they opposed her, among other such traits. They were even both fans and supporters of Artorius and his ideals, of which they grew disillusioned with as reality hit them square in the face about who he really became. This is best highlighted in the skit "Total Opposites", when Bienfu keeps insisting the two women couldn't be more different from each other, but Laphicet isn't convinced and points out multiple ways in which one of them acts like the other.

O-Y

• Oblivious to His Own Description: She tells her brother Laphi that he should find a nice, older girl willing to be strict when he needs it. Oh, and a good cook too! Velvet qualifies in all those things.
• Odd Friendship: With Eleanor. An exorcist not to mention future Shepherd being friends with a daemon, much less the Lord of Calamity is highly unlikely and yet they become best friends.
• Offhand Backhand: What she does to a daemon when she first gets her left hand.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: Magilou never lets Velvet forget the time she had to imitate a dove to get into Loegres. Never.
• Our Demons Are Different: She's a Therion class Daemon, being able to consume anything with her daemon transformed hand.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When the party is led to believe the people of Aball survived the Scarlet Night event, Velvet starts behaving like she did before she was broken apart. Some of them are put off by how nice she is.
  • Later on, Velvet is utterly broken into a berserk state that she becomes really violent and thirsty for revenge against Artorius and Innominat showing her visions of the past.
• Perpetual Frowner: Although she does smile a few times, flashbacks notwithstanding, this is her default expression in the game. She does smile more later in the game. When Velvet starts smiling in the fabricated Aball, Eleanor points out her surprise that Velvet is capable of smiling.
• Pirate Girl: Velvet ends up one by affiliating herself with Aifread's crew.
• Platonic Declaration of Love: She gives one to Laphicet in response to his own, though his may not have been platonic.
• Playing with Fire: As a result of devouring Seres in Titania, a lot of her artes are fire-based.
• The Power of Hate: Literally in that she eats malevolence, which encompasses negative emotions including hatred, in order to get stronger. Figuratively in that her hatred of Artorius and her desire to get her vengance is what motivates her.
• Predecessor Villain: Of a sort, to Heldalf from Zestiria. While she is the first person to be referred to as the Lord of Calamity, she is actually a Byronic Hero who suffered a Historical Villain Upgrade.
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner:
  "No mercy! Wounds that won't heal carved into flesh! LETHAL PAIN!"
  "No mercy! You thought I'd stop there? ANNIHILATING CRASH!"
  "No mercy! If you think this is hell... I'm just getting started! I'll drag you down... and grind you into earth! IMPULSE DESIRE!"
• Promotion to Parent: Just as Celica was Promoted for Velvet and Laphicet after their parents died, Velvet had to become Laphicet's combined big sister and mother after Celica died. At nine years old, no less. Though Arthur was present to watch over the siblings, he was also frequently busy and became emotionally distant following Celica's death.
• Red Baron: First referred to as "The Calamity" by the people of Hellawes, Velvet eventually becomes known as The Lord of Calamity by the Abbey, a title she eventually embraces. She makes such a big impression that history labels all figures with powerful malevolence as Lords of Calamity. Before that, there's also Velvet the Daemoneater.
• Relative Button: The murder of her brother, along with being told that her brother's murder was a necessary evil, only fuels her rage.
• Reluctant Fanservice Girl: Downplayed. While she's not too bothered by her state of dress, she does gets rather annoyed when a guy points it out.
• Reused Character Design: An interview with the game's producer confirmed that they were conscious of Milla Maxwell's popularity and design when they were designing Velvet.
• The Reveal: Her brother willingly sacrificed himself to make a better world where she could live in peace. Velvet doesn't take it well.
• Revenge: Her goal against the shepherd Artorius, for the murder of her brother Laphicet and for locking her in a prison cell.
  Velvet: You have to be tough, if what you seek is revenge.
• Right Behind Me: Many villagers display their fear of the dreaded Lord of Calamity, blissfully unaware that she is standing three feet in front of them.
• The Right Hand of Doom: Velvet's left arm is usually covered in straps. If she releases it the arm turns into an enormous spiky hand like it belonged to a giant werewolf.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Towards Artorius after witnessing him kill her brother.
• Rummage Sale Reject: What with her very raggedy, torn-up clothing, plenty of belts, and lack of coverage.
• Samus Is a Girl: Some villagers you overhear mistakenly identify the Lord of Calamity as male.
• Sanity Slippage: After she discovers that Innominat is actually her brother and he sends her to the earthpulse without remorse, she turns batshit insane after the betrayal, screaming about how she is going to kill both Artorius and Innominat, and basically anyone who gets in her way, realizing that she is a monster who kills everyone who opposes her and causes misery wherever she goes. Thankfully, she snaps out of it thanks to Laphicet and Eizen.
• Say My Name: Continuing the proud tradition of the Tales Series love for this trope, ARTORIUS!!!
• Screaming Warrior: In Artorius' presence. Also, several of her finishing moves see her scream with fury.
• Sealed Evil in a Duel: Her fate is to forever consume Innominat who consumes her in turn, locking them both in a stasis.
• Sense Loss Sadness: After trying to eat an apple and finding out that she can't appreciate the taste anymore.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: She's often cited by others as being very beautiful, especially her hair. You don't realize it because her normal outfit is torn to shreads and her villager outfit doesn't really highlight this. However, some costumes such as her Idolmaster dress and many supplementary materials help show this off very well.
• She-Fu: Quite a few of her artes have her cartwheel and use the knife in her foot.
• She Is the King: Velvet is given the masculine title of "The Lord of Calamity" by the populace. The title itself would eventually go on to describe anyone who produces a large amount of malevolence, male or female.
• Ship Tease: With Eleanor, Niko, and Rokurou.
• Shrouded in Myth: Part of the reason she can walk around so freely is that all the stories paint the Lord of Calamity as a disgustingly horrible monster straight out of Lovecraft's notebook. And sometimes a guy. It's a natural consequence of a world without instant communication.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Her response to Oscar's attempt to justify turning Kamoana into a therion and imprisoning her in Palamedes is to swiftly kick him into a wall.
• Stripperific: Somewhat Justified given she was imprisoned for three years without a change of clothing and had to cobble a new outfit together after escaping.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Especially in the beginning. She normally acts cold and distant, but will show moments of kindness where Laphicet is concerned, only to go right back to harsh and aloof.
• Suicide is Shameful: Downplayed. When a price-gouging dock merchant is afflicted by Innominat's free will suppression, he goes on about how he "has" to die. When she stops him, she says she doesnt much care if he wants to die, but really hates all the talk of him "needing" to die.
• Supernatural Gold Eyes: A trait she shares with her siblings.
• Supreme Chef: She was one before becoming a daemon, and can become one again if you max her cooking level. This is in spite of not being able to taste anything after she becomes a daemon, which further speaks to how good she is.
• Sword and Fist: Sword and Foot actually, with most of her non-katar attacks being kick-based.
• Talking in Your Dreams: In Episode 23 of Tales of Zestiria the X, she meets Sorey in his dream and encourages him to walk down the path he believes in.
• Tareme Eyes: Before the Advent, where her brother Laphicet was sacrificed, Velvet had much more rounded and delicate eyes. While she was still considered a Tomboy by most, she is comparatively softer and more delicate in both appearance and personality than she is three years later.
• Team Mom: Despite herself, or maybe because of herself, Velvet grows to care deeply for the party and becomes a mother figure, often checking in on their well-being, offering some occasional otherworldly wisdom about life and self image, physically assaulting Oscar just cause he made Eleanor cry, even hugging Kamoana when she was crying about her missing mom. This is played for comedy in the DLC skits, where the party takes a brief detour on a beach and she's the one micro-managing everyone; they tease her about it by the end, and she finds she can't disagree. This is especially shown in two Inn skits where she reveals she's a very good resourceful person when it comes to cleaning (going as far as to dress up appropriately) and using food resources that Laphicet comments she would be a good mom.
• The Tease: She's rather playful, with a pretty strong flirtatious streak ("joking" that she'd marry Niko if she were a guy in the prologue), and very much enjoys making people sexually uncomfortable. In the anime, she shares two seductive-looking glances at Rokurou, and in the game, witnesses all of Rokurou's Shirtless Scenes (by the third, she's even low-key humming while looking at him). She especially gets a kick out of teasing Eleanor, the "Crybaby Exorcist," usually whenever the topic is about romance or sex. Two moments stand out the most and both involve Laphicet. During the hot spring scene in the Bonus Dungeon, her soul transfers to Laphicet in the guys' portion, so she gets an eye-full of Rokurou's body; when she talks to Laphicet about it, she almost brags about how she saw the guys' bodies, much to his embarrassment. In Eleanor's side quest, as Velvet and Eleanor were discussing motherhood, Medissa was talking seriously about what it means to be a mother, and was confident Eleanor would be one in the future too. In comes Laphicet who asks why Eleanor was blushing. Velvet immediately says they were having "girl talk," which embarrasses the boy and he walks out, with Velvet saying she loves tarnishing his innocence.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Velvet bases her identity in this, knowing that her desire to kill Artorius is based in a selfish desire for revenge, and that's before she learns he's become a Villain with Good Publicity that effectively controls the world. She knows her motives are a PR nightmare and isn't afraid to tell anyone who offers her aid that she fully intends to murder the Shepherd with no real long-term goal beyond that. When the Abbey begins to refer to her as "the Lord of Calamity," Velvet embraces it, even exploiting it to cause a village to flee in terror just at the sight of her. She so completely thinks of herself as a monster that she'll often doctor the facts against herself - when recounting her escape from Titania, she says she was freed by a rogue Malak, and consumed her rescuer on the way out to awaken her powers. She leaves out that Seres was mortally wounded protecting Velvet from an attack and begged to be consumed so her death would tangibly help. Velvet thinks her goals make her inherently unsympathetic, but when her full picture is finally made clear, an antagonistic teammate-by-circumstance completely loses any resolve to betray her.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Magilou believes Velvet has this effect on the more moral members of the party.
  Magilou: How quickly one falls when entering Velvet's dark orbit.
• Tsundere: A darker yet more low-key version. Velvet is still very much a teenage girl with a lot of pride who (post-betrayal) refuses to let people get close to her and tries to be a blunt and ruthless jerk so they both can't hurt her if they betray her too and so she can maintain her Then Let Me Be Evil image. However, it often fails, and she usually responds with a flustered, slightly aggressive blush, or even without the blush, adopts many stereotypical "don't think I did it for you" lines whenever she shows concern for the people around her. This is also played for laughs and subverted in one DLC skit, the beach one, where the party outright calls her a mom figure, she blushes, and says "That's totally.... the case, isn't it?" with a surprisingly soft smile.
• The Unfettered: There's literally nothing Velvet wouldn't do to kill Artorius, and it can get rather frightening. Trapped in a prison filled with daemons? Just start a riot and use the prisoners as a distraction. Reach the very top of the prison and find there's no way down? Just jump down using the mountain wall as balance. Dislocated shoulder on the way down? Just pop it back into place. Lose a Hopeless Boss Fight against Artorius? Just try again, grinning eagerly audaciously at the challenge. Even if it's her own well-being, it doesn't matter to her. This actually fascinates Rokurou, Eizen, and Seres, who all find her intense passion and relentless drive to push through every obstacle inspiring.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tomboy to her childhood friend Nico's, and Eleanor's, girly girl.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: While she's a massive Tomboy otherwise, she's quite the Supreme Chef, is very serious about cleaning, and would basically make the ideal housewife.
• Too Many Belts: One as a cape clasp, three on her thigh, two around her waist, and a smattering of shorter ones strewn about her outfit.
• Took a Level in Cheerfulness: While it starts right about the time she starts calling Laphicet "Phi," it really settles in by the second half of the game. Velvet is more at peace with herself and all the contradictions felt in her heart and head; she smiles more often, is more willing to indulge in silliness from her party or Kamoana, has more frequent bonding sessions with Eleanor, and becomes generally more outgoing like she used to be as a kid.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Her brother's murder and her being imprisoned for three years made her rather cold to others.
• Took a Level in Kindness: It takes the entire first half and a quarter of the game, but she finally gets there, thanks to Phi breaking her out of her Heroic BSoD and accepting the Awful Truth. Her genuine friendship with the party, but especially her relationship with Phi and Eleanor, causes her to change considerably. Her hard edges smooth considerably, and she's happier, softer, and nicer, especially to Eleanor, Phi, and Kamoana. She's almost a completely different person by the end of the game.
• Tragic Heroine: She suffers quite a bit throughout her journey and even though she really grew as a character, her vengeance that she spent three years imprisoned for was All for Nothing, ends up being a seal and would forever be known as the Lord of Calamity.
• Tragic Keepsake: Two of them from different people. Her little brother Laphi's comb and Seres's ring after devouring her. She discards the comb in the final battle, where Innominat breaks it.
• Tragic Dream: She dreams eternally of a better world in her sealed state in the ending. A dream of her family being alive and her childhood friend as her and Laphi travel the world and encounter the other characters on the way.
• Traumatic Superpower Awakening: She became a Therion because she witnessed her brother's murder.
• Tsurime Eyes: Her present day, post-daemon transformation appearance gives her harder, edgier eyes of this style, with the edges slanted inwards. This is used to demonstrate just how much her personality has changed after the her betrayal and watching her brother die.
• Underboobs: Her outfit bares quite a bit of cleavage◊.
• Undying Loyalty: Deconstructed. Having grown up without parents, family is huge for her, and she will do anything for her family. But then, that family betrays her so cruelly and casually, all her love gets thrown aside, replaced by seething hatred and violent rage. Even the brother she adored turned out to be in on the Human Sacrifice and becomes a God of Evil's vessel where he torments his sister and tries to use her for Artorius' plans. The only blood relative left is the reincarnation of her dead unborn nephew, whom she prioritizes, but (at least initially) as a Replacement Goldfish for her brother, something Velvet herself has trouble with at first. She later admits she still loves her family deeply, no matter how furious she is at what they've done, but that won't stop her from killing Artorius anyway. Instead, her new "family" becomes the party, whom she grows to care about as a Team Mom while they help her grow as a person.
• Unscrupulous Hero: Best exemplified from her "confession" to a priest:
  "I caused a riot in a prison and escaped. Then I set a city's warehouse on fire and stole a ship to escape. Then I worked with pirates and destroyed a military's fortress. I killed everyone who got in my way."
• Ur-Example: In-universe case as she is the first Lord of Calamity
• Unstoppable Rage: After the ritual that kills her brother, she flies into a rage that makes her slaughter scores of daemons with ease. It only stops when Artorius strikes her down.
  RAAAAGH! Why did you kill him?! His blood... on your hands... Answer me! Answer me! WHY?! He was my brother! My Laphi! What did he ever do?! Get out of my way!
• Unwitting Pawn: The Abbey intentionally fostered hatred and despair in her so that they could offer these two types of malevolence to Innominat. Thankfully, Laphicet manages to save her from despair, allowing her to fight back for real.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Velvet used to be a perfectly sweet and happy person, but the trauma of watching her younger brother die at Artorius' hands on the Scarlet Night, as well as her arm getting infected with the power of a daemon, left her in a very bad place.
• Use Your Head: How Velvet overpowers Artorius after the Final Boss fight.
• Vengeance Feels Empty: Zig-zagged. Finally killing Artorious doesn't make Velvet any happier, she doesn't roar with triumph or celebrate her success, and it certainly doesn't bring her family back. She in fact starts crying softly, but by Artorious' own admission the man she was crying for had died years before her quest for revenge even began. Achieving her vengeance does noticeably bring Velvet a great deal of peace; her hate and anger vanishes the moment she drives Artorious' sword into him.
• Villain Protagonist: Subverted. Velvet far more resembles the villains of previous titles, in looks and powers, than she does previous heroes, and her initial motivation is literal murder for revenge, rather than any kind of higher, noble calling. Thanks partly to the Abbey's propaganda and the various gossipers, she's treated as if she was the greatest menace to society, and she will always be remembered as a daemon among daemons. However, it's made clear almost from jump street Velvet still holds onto her humanity and retains a strong moral compass, even if she doesn't like showing it publicly. She may forever be remembered as the first Lord of Calamity, but she saved the world precisely so they can choose to see her however they wish.
• Waif-Fu: Is powerful enough to lift daemons with her left hand.
• Walking Wasteland: Inverted. While this is one of the traits associated with the a Lord of Calamity, Velvet's nature as a Therion means she usually absorbs in Malevolence rather polluting areas with it.
• Weak, but Skilled:
  • Downplayed. She's far from weak, but she's not a Final Boss level fighter that one would expect from a Lord of Calamity. Despite that, she defeats the much stronger Shepherd of her era by staying determined, gathering allies, and learning how to counter his plans. Compared to the other Therions, she relies more on martial artistry and fighting dirty than monstrous transformations
  • This also applies before becoming a Therion. She is a swift martial artist and on New Game Plus, is capable of taking on the gigantic Metaboar by herself. Unfortunately, she is unable to hurt Daemons because she lacks the spiritual powers that Malakhim, Daemons, and Exorcists have.
• Weaksauce Weakness: Played for Laughs. She is allergic to cats and is vulnerable to stage fright.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Her desire to kill Artorius, the savior of Midgand, was based on a selfish desire for revenge, which she freely admits, as she can't accept a world where peace was achieved by infanticide, Human Sacrifice, maiming, unethical imprisonment, and deep psychological trauma that spurned her into becoming a demon. Before long, she learns Artorius' goals aren't even as noble as he claims, and part of her Character Development is to refashion her revenge, not solely as retribution for her trauma, but also as a way to, in her words, "give hope to the world," and carve out a life where she determines her future, not by following the demands of the cruel men in her life.
• When She Smiles: Even with all her bitterness and cynicism, she still manages to give some genuinely heartwarming smiles, such as when she saves Laphicet from the Fortress Daemon's suicide attack. A more comical example happens in one skit where she gets revenge on Magilou by forcing her to drink sale'tomah.
• Worf Had the Flu: Tries taking on Teresa while she's heavily injured from getting stabbed by Artorius in their first encounter and Laphicet barely finishes healing her. It ends poorly for Velvet.
• Wrecked Weapon: Artorius manages to destroy her wrist blade in their final bout. Doesn't slow her down at all.
• You All Look Familiar: Velvet looks a little too much like a black-haired Milla. Some have joked she's the daughter of Milla and Jude.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: While she gives one of these moments to Eleanor, Velvet is herself a target of this from various members of the party, who all separately say she's not an irredeemable monster, she's not an evil mass murderer, she's just another complicated human with her own complicated heart. Rokurou, himself a daemon with no qualms about killing a family member, thinks Velvet, a daemon-eating daemon, still has a kind of humanity that he admires, while Eizen thinks her "foolishness" is inspiring, and Laphicet says she's "also kind, and full of life," so he'll never abandon her no matter how much she scares him. Magilou even praises her for helping to give Laphicet a sense of identity, and Eleanor loses all willingness to betray Velvet after both finding out the truth of the Abbey's goals and bigger picture of Velvet's motivations and past life, reasoning that the "real" Velvet is the "normal, ordinary, loving sister" she used to be in Aball.
• You Should Have Died Instead: Inverted. When she's faced with a Heroic BSoD, she admits she wanted to die in place of everyone else, cause she still can't bare the loss of her family. When Artorius even says he wished Velvet and Laphicet died in place of his wife and unborn son, Velvet unusually acknowledges this might have been better overall. That said, Velvet was still family to Artorius, and he would have felt much the same about her dying as he did for Celica.
• You're Insane!: Eleanor says this word for word after seeing Velvet cut her wounded, bandaged hand to demonstrate how little she believes an illusion is real.

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