fault

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Selphine and Ritona looking very lost...

fault is a Science Fantasy Visual Novel series developed by ALICE IN DISSONANCE and published by Sekai Project. fault is comprised of two parts and a prequel.

  • fault milestone one (2013)
  • fault - milestone two side:above (2015)
  • fault - silence the pedant (TBA)
  • fault - milestone two side:below (TBA)

milestone one

Selphine, the princess of Rughzenahide, and her Royal Guard Ritona have just escaped their fallen kingdom by teleportation. Unfortunately, a problem in Mana link has left them stranded on a foreign and separate continent, the Outer-Pole, which is lacking in Mana. With no way to properly defend themselves, Selphina and Ritona go to a nearby town, where they meet Rune, a helpful but mysterious girl with a loose screw. Just who is she? But when Rune/Sara is made to stop meeting her new friends against her will, the two travelers decide to unravel a mystery that has deep and dark origins...

Tropes used in fault milestone one include:
  • The Alcoholic/Drowning My Sorrows: Cid, after the death of his daughter and his wife, started drinking and had bouts of rage.
  • All Lowercase Letters: The titles.
  • Allohistorical Allusion: In Chapter 5, Albas mentions that Rudo, after becoming interim CEO of Zhevitz Enterprise, invented something called a "stock market", which helped the company in difficult times.
  • As You Know: In Chapter 4, Albas explains to Cid that the MRI (Mana resonance imagery) scanner was Cid's invention and that its accuracy level is absolute. Justified, Cid is in denial and cannot fathom the possibility of her daughter Rune having no emotions, as Albas revealed earlier, even with the evidence coming from MRI.
    • In Chapter 5, Albas explains Laboratory-9's emergency protocol to the scientists who have alerted him of the lab's state of emergency.
  • Beat: Chapter 4's flashback has one. At the bar, Hertzwann recognizes, among the Zhevitz family, Rudo and...
...
...
Rune!
  • Blind Jump: The emergency teleportation at the beginning is pretty much this.
  • Call Forward: In Chapter 5's flashback, Eline wonders if their lives are going too smoothly.
    • In Chapter 7's flashback, Albas talks about the virtues of friendship to Sara. She is later inspired to steal sediment stones from the mana-mines for Ritona and Selphine, because they're her friends. That incident happened earlier in the story.
  • Cassandra Truth: In Chapter 4, Rudo told his parents that he saw Rune kill an animal near her school, but they ignored him, as if they didn't want to admit the fact.
    • Albas also did not believe Rudo's concerns about Rune, thinking Rudo is being jealous. Justified and Discussed by Albas: Rudo has no evidence and other people would not believe him either. Deconstructed, after Rune's death and the near-collapse of Zhevitz Enterprise, Albas regretted his skepticism, saying it was "the mistake of [his] life".
    • Discussed in the Chapter 7 flashback. Because Eline wanted to imagine a happy perfect family so much, she ignored Rune's wickedness and Rudo's concerns.
  • Catch Phrase: Hertzwann says "(word) shm(word)" a lot.
  • Cliff Hanger In Chapter 8, it looks like Ritona and Selphine (plus their new companion Rune) are set off to an adventure full of wonders... when suddenly, a huge teleportation manakravte is cast... and Melano's there! She reveals to Selphine that her father, King Vhalar, is dead. By that, she meant that she "personally saw to his death." Shocked, Selphine seemingly goes mad and, with passion, orders Ritona not to kill Melano, but to bind her, or cut off her limbs. Then she laughs, and the credits roll.
  • Content Warnings: Occurs In-Universe in Chapter 5. Albas warns Ritona and Selphine about the events involving Rudo and Rune Zhevitz that will be described.
  • Easter Egg: Two of the achivements.
    • Sociopath: Watch Rune's rampage CG for 3 hours in the gallery.
    • This Is Not That Type Of Game: Play Selphine and Ritona's change scene over 50 times
  • Episodic Game: milestone one and two, with a prequel.
  • Exposition Beam: On Chapter 5, Selphine and Ritona use a "Manakravte" version of Telepathy to access Albas's memories.
  • Flashback (trope): See Origins Episode.
  • Foil: Hertzwann, the cheery drunkard, and Albas, the calm scientist, are good friends.
  • Foregone Conclusion: The death of Rudo's parents.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • In Chapter 2, The mysterious blue-haired girl in Kadia calls herself Rune... and she struggles to remember her name...
    • Ritona, when meeting Rune, cannot detect any malicious intent inside her... or any emotions, for that matter.
    • In Chapter 6, Sara (who isn't named at this point) recognizes Rudo's name and calls him "brother".
  • Forgets to Eat: Eline, before her death.
  • Fun with Acronyms: "Sara" stands for Synapse Architecture Review and Assessment
  • Functional Magic
  • Gory Discretion Shot: In Chapter 4, CG of Rune Zhevitz's rampage shows her bloodied clothes, but not the damage done to Markous.
  • Hypocrite: According to Selphine, Ritona decrying her faults, while she says to Selphine not to do that for herself.
  • Implausible Deniability: In Chapter 6, Rudo lies to Sara/Rune that he has "no recollection" of having a little sister with the name "Rune."
  • In Medias Res: milestone one begins with the enemy having stormed Rughzenhaide and Koko seeking to kill the princess.
  • Incurable Cough of Death: In Chapter 5, Cid gets this in his later years.
  • Insistent Terminology: In Chapter 5, in his childhood, Cid insisted on referring to his house as the "laboratory".
  • Insane Troll Logic: In Chapter 7, Rudo argues that because Sara learns fast and efficiently, she must have all the same personality traits as Rune Zhevitz did.
  • Irrational Hatred: Rudo towards Sara.
  • It Gets Better
  • It's All My Fault: In Chapter 5, Albas blames himself for the death of Rune and Eline Zhevitz, as he previously didn't believe in Rudo's concerns.
  • Limited Wardrobe: It's a bad thing Selphine and Ritona didn't bring spare clothes...
  • The Load: In Chapter 4, Selphine fears she is this and talks about it to Ritona.
  • Made of Iron Rune/Sara getting a ale cask smashed into her and not getting a scratch.
  • Magi Babble: It's consistent, but there's a lot of it.
  • Magic A Is Magic A
  • Magic Versus Science: In the Outer-Pole, since Mana is virtually nonexistent, its people have developed scientific alternatives to magic. Mana is still extremely important to their bodies, so much so that sediment stones, even sub-par ones, are sold at outrageous prices.
  • Magitek: Some magical technology exists in the Outer-Pole and Kadia.
  • Mana: "Purified" and "Coloured" Mana, used for "Manakravte."
  • Mental World: In Chapter 5, Selphine and Ritona enter Albas' mind by telepathy. Once inside Albas' conscience (Laboratory-9), they complements its clean state and his intelligence.
    • The more people have a disturbed mind or a failing mental health, the more their conscience appears dark and gloomy.
  • Morton's Fork: In Chapter 3, the only choice in the game doesn't do much.
  • Mystery Fiction
  • Never Gets Drunk: At the tavern, Selphine implies that Ritona is this, alluding to several incidents from the past. Of course, Ritona becomes annoyed and wants to change the subject when it's brought up.
  • One Game for the Price of Two: milestone two is divided in two parts.
  • Origins Episode: How the Character Focus around the Zhevitz family occurs:
    • Chapter 4 tells the origin of Rune Zhevitz, told in an extended Flashback.
    • Chapter 5 contains a flashback detailing the rise and troubles of the Zhevitz business.
  • Out of Focus: Ritona and Selphine barely appear during the second flashback.
  • Posthumous Character: Rune Zhevitz, along with her parents Elaine and Cid.
  • Promotion to Opening Titles: When milestone one is completed, Rune is now shown along with Ritona and Selphine on the title screen.
  • Psychic Link: Ritona and Selphine can communicate by mind with a Manakravte spell.
  • The King's Daughter: Selphine. She had to flee her fallen kingdom. Ritona is her Royal Guard and confident.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: When Rune/Sara tells Ritona to leave the graveyard, after she was surprised investigating inside, her eyes become red for a brief moment. This is a sign of her being an automaton.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Selphine, Ritona.
  • The Reveal: In Chapter 4, Rune Zhevitz has no emotions and cannot have any.
    • In Chapter 5, Albas reveals to Ritona and Selphine that Sara is a machine.
    • In Chapter 5's flashback, What Cid tinkered with all this time in Laboratory-9... was Sara.
    • In Chapter 7's flashback, Rune Zhevitz was resurrected inside Sara's automaton body.
    • In Chapter 8, Melano reveals she murdered King Vahlar.
  • Robot Girl: Rune/Sara
    • Zhevitz Enterprise developed the Sisters Project, which would have used robotic humanoid girls to keep nuns from getting Mana poisoning while they were helping sick patients. The idea was rejected by the church.
  • Ship Tease: The clerk at the bar wonders if Albas is into shy girls like Ritona and Selphine. Shot down and Lampshaded by Ritona, who is quite pissed.
  • Thanatos Gambit: Rune Zhevitz's suicide served to ruin the Zhevitz family.
  • That Makes Me Feel Angry: Played for Drama in Chapter 4. After their meeting with a unrecognizable Rune/Sara, Selphine has this to say to Ritona:

I can't remember the last time... I've felt this angry.

Rune Zhevitz: I am responsible for killing my mother... and I am at fault for destroying my father's focus.

  • The Watson: In Chapter 6, since Kirki is a newcomer at Zhevitz Enterprise and is confused about Sara, Vorthal explains to him the basics of the Sisters Project.
  • Updated Rerelease:
    • The Director's Cut of milestone one, financed on Kickstarter and released on December 2014, includes improved character sprites, new cutscenes and an English translation.
    • The "Revised" edition, added as an update to the base game in July 2016, improves the English translation.
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Ritona's is purple, Rudo's is dark blue (from his father), Rune/Sara's is light blue and Rune Zhevitz's is also light blue.
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