#also it's about michael and mikleo

[mistbow]

It’s interesting that when referring to Michael and Mikleo’s relationship, the words “血を分ける” is used instead of “血が繋がる”—both meaning basically the same thing (literally “to share blood” and “to be related by blood” but when you put it like this in English, they sound the same on the surface, they’re both usually translated as “blood-related” anyway), but the former is used to indicate anyone who’s directly and closely related (so parents, siblings, children, etc.) instead of the latter that is more general (including uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.) but still more limited than “血を引く” (an entire family lineage).

I don’t know what I’m getting at here but I’m just reminded of this by Mikleo wondering if Michael and Muse were husband and wife before Sorey said he thought they were siblings because they looked alike. Shepherds can’t get married when they’re a Shepherd (they can outside the pact though) after all. I mean there was that English mistranslation but that was a mistranslation lol.

[mxdotpng]

thinking about a game swap. for zesteria/berseria

[hungrydolphin91]

Talestober 2023 Day 25: At Your Lowest Point

Being an angst lover I had SO many options for what to put here— writing characters at their lowest point is kinda my go-to. But ultimately I couldn't resist using a snippet again from the emotional climax of my angsty sormik post-game zesty fic Falling Awake because it breaks my heart every goddamn time. @v-voeux just in case you wanted to read it too.

Massive spoilers ahead for my ongoing fic, and please refer to this tumblr post to get the full context of the story 'cause there's a lot going on here (it's also 1st person POV in case that throws anyone off):

The last memory is Mikleo, alone, in an underground library. Windowless alcoves filled with thin candles provide a flickering amber light to read by. He sits upon a crumbling stool, eyes darting between lines as his breaths grow more and more rapid. Excitedly, he begins to read aloud:

'Having witnessed the awakening of five Empyrean Lords, I can say with some degree of certainty that they are not the stoic, unchanging beings the legends make them out to be. They can be influenced by the souls that are sacrificed to them, and seem to take on the memories and even personalities of the deceased. In a way, the soul lives on, reincarnated as a god.'

Mikleo wets his lips, swallows. His mind must be racing, because mine certainly is. I mean, souls reborn as gods? It sounds similar to seraphic reincarnation, like Mikleo's rebirth after Michael killed him as a baby. With that kind of precedent, it seems possible, but so, so dangerous. You'd have to be—

Desperate? Lonely? Ambitious? The seraph before me is all of those things, I realize with growing dread. He's empty, nothing to lose, everything to gain. He's tired of enduring the chaos of the world around him, expressing his fears only through his pen. He refuses to watch any longer, not when there's finally something he can do.

Even among his fervor, I can see some hesitation on his face, calculating the risks, weighing the costs. I want to shake him by the shoulders, yell at this ghost until he sees sense. What about you?? Is our dream really so important that it's worth it to lose yourself along the way?!

For a moment we lock eyes, my present and his past seemingly one. Then his gaze slips past me, as though he's listening to someone else.

"'My dream will live on, so long as I don't forget.'"

The echo feels like a knife twisted into my heart. Even at his lowest moment, Mikleo sought advice, comfort, reassurance, from me. If only I had been there to tell him just how wrong he was. If only I had been there to catch him when he fell.

Mikleo's head lowers, lengthy silver hair streaming down his chest. His eyes slowly close as he surrenders himself to the finality of his choice.

"This is… all I have left."

It IS all he had left— words, and memories. Our dream is all I left behind, and he held onto it so strongly it led him here, standing opposite me as the earthen historia recedes from my sight.

[igneouswyvern]

anyways zestiria swap au because im insane

i searched high and low (a few tags) on tumblr to see if anyone had done this before and i saw a couple but none done quite like this idea i had so i guess we can officially say i had an original idea maybe (yay)

so the first swap is mikleo and sorey. mikleo is a human raised by seraphim in elysia and sorey is a water seraph and his best friend ofc. their story starts out mostly the same bc you know sormik is sormik. but once they leave elysia MIKLEO is the one who becomes the shepherd. *evil grinning*

the next swap is alisha and lailah, the ladylake gang. lailah is the princess of hyland and a knight, and becomes mikleo's squire. alisha is the lady of the lake, a fire seraph, and mikleo's prime lord.

i deliberated about the rest of the party a LOT but i think i've finally settled on a rose/edna and dezel/zavied swap. i hate just swapping the two wind seraphim but i think rose and edna as a swapped pair works the best out of the possible combinations. so edna is the leader of the sparrowfeathers and the scattered bones, a merchant and an assassin. she was taken in as a child by eizen, leader of the wind riders, who became a pseudo older brother to her. after he died she carried on his legacy.

i think rose's eizen has to be brad, i can't think of anyone else for her. you know father figure = brother figure right? idk. but yeah they're both earth seraphim and rose's motivation for joining the party is mikleo's promise to bring brad back. i think these pairs also work because it kind of keeps rose/dezel and edna/zavied together as the established pairs, where dezel knew brad back in berseria days (LOL) and is thus tangentially familiar with rose, while zavied, former member of the wind riders and friend of eizen's, feels responsible for looking out for edna. so even though it leaves dezel and zavied in a really unfortunate position i think it's the best way to handle their respective dynamics.

also i just really wanted to make edna an assassin LOL

anyways that makes the party layout:

mikleo: shepherd

squires: lailah and edna

water seraph: sorey

fire seraph: alisha

earth seraph: rose

wind seraphim: zavied, later dezel

that's about as much as i've worked out currently. i really want to swap all the side characters around too but i haven't quite worked out who swaps with who. i think the most obvious choice is michael as the lord of calamity and heldalf as the previous shepherd, but that's as far as i've gotten. i wanna swap around symmone, mayvin, zenrus, maltran, sergei, lunarre, etc but i have no idea what pairs are good for this. idk

anyways yeah. it's there

[lnkedmyheart]

Having a sormik breakdown now that i had time to relax and used it to reread the final volume properly and take my time absorbing it fully.

But THIS.

The theme of that one person who is there to support you and guide you in the truest sense is a big theme throughout the final section of the story. Its what drove Michael to despair, it was what made Heldalf finally lose himself and it something that's also brought up again and again with Sorey.

To a great extent, Rose and the Seraphim all help Sorey on his journey and his growth, particularly Rose and Zaveid who allow him to accept death and the harsher side of war and Mikleo who is constantly beside him every step of the way sharing his burdens willingly.

But then Sorey and Alisha have this conversation about a guiding light, and Alisha states that Sorey's guiding light would be a "gentle star who's light can reach anywhere".

And Heldalf refers to Selene, the woman he loved as the "small shining light in the darkness" because her memory broke through to him even in his corrupted state.

And then you have all of Mikleo's post canon moments marked by Sorey's presence showing his role as a guiding light in his life as well. And while Sorey is also a guiding light for the world at large, Mikleo is the only one actively looking at it out of everyone. Like everyone is under his guidance but Mikleo is the one actively seeking out the light.

And there's also the moment with these two at the end of the main game which has Sorey literally finding Mikleo and saving him. Note how Sorey saved Mikleo and is surrounded by light and has a really gentle silhouette. Meanwhile, if Sorey is a seraph now, which I highkey believe he is implied to be considering all the hints dropped all over the game, he remembered Mikleo and looked for him after waking up. So yea, they are each other's "gentle star who's light can reach anywhere".

And if that's not enough evidence, then there's literally Asteria which has corrupted LoC Sorey still having a huge soft spot for Mikleo.

From the very start of their story to the very end their primary goal was always to be able to live out their dreams together. They dont plan to meet up after everything is over, they plan on making a new dream and live it together. You may not see it as romantic but its undeniably one of the most important bonds in the story and they mean more than the world to each other and nobody can deny that.

Edit-

There's also the fact that Sorey literally tells Mikleo that as long as he remembers their dream will live on. That's another aspect setting Mikleo up as a guiding light in Sorey's life.

[kresnikcest]

i rewatched bits of the anime and forgot just how ridiculous the episode with mikleo’s backstory is. he doesn’t even get to know and sorey expresses more emotion at heldalf’s curse than the fact that mikleo was the sacrifice. because the plot just kinda. didn’t make that super explicit that it WAS mikleo.

(like you can infer based on muse’s circlet but like... we only see mikleo’s circlet very briefly when he’s underwater. plus i don’t think they even exposited that seraphim can be reborn from humans?)

also i know the exposition is limited to what heldalf remembers, so he wouldn’t know if muse sealed off camlann, but she’s not shown dying either so ??? where did she go

anyway this scene would be 100% improved just by having mikleo being the one sorey is armatised with when he starts seeing heldalf’s memories. i’m sure they could realise this michael in heldalf’s memories is also the shepherd michael and then connect the dots when they see muse’s circlet.

aaaaagh i love the anime for its few good parts and i ADORE the side effect of purification (it’s good for exposition and whump!) but god damn i can’t think about it too long or it’ll annoy me

the problem with the anime is not that they excised a bunch of plot stuff but that it doesn’t even manage to stand on its own as a contained story.

[spectrum-sanctuary]

Tales of Zestiria 6th Anniversary 12 Day Challenge

Day 9: Fusion

AU festival! Time for AU content; share anything you want: fic, art, cosplay, a simple AU plot, anything is good.

I haven’t written much of anything for this so this is just a plot idea. Also this might have already been explored by someone else on a fic or art and I just haven’t looked enough on Ao3 or the internet but I’m going to put it down anyway. If you’ve got similar idea or have something you want to share or discuss about it, I’d love to hear it!

MAJOR SPOILERS for Tales of Zestiria and Tales of Berseria plots from their games in here.

So in Berseria, it was stated that the reason Laphicet/Maotelus was able to obtain the Silver Flame and its characteristic to purify malevolence was because of his connection to Innominat (whose main power characteristic was removing malevolence, Maotelus just technically modified it in his own version), and he got connected to him when he was ‘accidentally’ sacrificed along with his mother to Innominat’s altar at the start of the game. When he was reborn as a malak/seraph, he was more powerful than usual malakhim (there is a mention/skit that said he was close to high-ranking, which is actually got him to be Teresa’s malak) and of course that eventually got proven over the course of the game, where he was able to evolve his powers to god levels. Which gets me thinking about Mikleo getting sacrificed to Maotelus and turning from human to seraph... which is eerily similar to how Maotelus himself got reborn. So, how likely is a possibility that reborn seraph Mikleo could become connected and obtain Innominat’s malevolence purification powers by extension when Michael sacrificed him to Maotelus?

The canon game itself does show that Mikleo is pretty talented. This isn’t simply my bias talking though, it’s shown in how Mikleo is able to keep up with the much older and experienced seraphim in the party in terms of power. Of course part of that is due to him training and working doubly hard (explicitly explored in a skit), and I’m not dismissing that. But I think that his innate talent and exceptional growth speed could still have been potentially influenced from being sacrificed to Maotelus. Obviously that is not what happened in the games but hey, that’s what AUs are for, right?

I’ve got so many idea variations on how to apply this idea though. It could be a Zestiria AU where Mikleo is a Void-element seraph like Maotelus instead of Water or a Water seraph but with a Water-themed variant of the Silver Flame/ability to purify malevolence. He either is the Prime Lord waiting for the Shepherd in Ladylake instead of Lailah (which I already hinted/did an excerpt on with the Day 6 Challenge) or could be separate from the main party (a rogue Seraph able to purify malevolence without a Shepherd???).  Also, I feel the story and boss battles would be more personal and dramatic if Mikleo is connected to Maotelus and has purifying powers due to that. It’s not his direct fault but he is still part of the reason Maotelus turned into a hellion. So... imagine the potential for guilt! And delicious angst for Mikleo And how it comes wonderfully full circle if Mikleo’s powers that he obtained from Maotelus when he got sacrificed is what they’ll use to save him. Gosh, I love that type of “it comes full circle” or fated storylines <3

I also have another idea where this concept is set in the post-game, years later when Sorey and Maotelus are finally awake from their nap and they battle a new evil or malevolence and this is when Mikleo’s own malevolence purifying capability would show up. But that would involve a lot of research and coming up with a new story line and OCs which is pretty daunting :( So I’ll procrastinate by just playing Zestiria instead Come celebrate @tozanniversary with the challenge list!

[the-albino-lioness]

Basic Info

Name: Blaze Barlech

Japanese: ブレイズバレッヒ

Gender: Male

Species: Dragon

Age: 17

Birthday: October 31

Star Sign: Scorpio

Height: 5'10(177cm)

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Green

Homeland: Isle of Poison and Gas

English VA: Michael Johnston (Mikleo Tales of Zestiria)

Japanese VA: Ryota Osaka (Mikleo Tales of Zestiria)

Japanese Singing Voice: Zebra

Professional Status

Dorm: Gondra

School Year: Second

Occupation: Dorm Member

Club: Fly Fishing

Best Subject: Combination Magic

Fun Fact

Dominant Hand: Right

Favorite Food(s): Fish, takoyaki, sushi, calamari

Least Favorite Food(s): Veggies

Dislikes: Beetles, extremely humid weather, messy things, his hair being touched, rude people

Hobbies: Rapping, causing trouble and chaos, drawing, working out, fishing, reading

Talents: Can turn anything poisonous if he chooses to

Unique Magic: "Bombs Away!"

Blaze goes into his half dragon form and grows a pair of green wings, a green tail, and green claws. Unique magic only work when he is with his brother. On the off chance he is not with Drake he can shoot green balls or streams of poisonous liquid and if he touches anything he can melt it or make it poisonous but only if he chooses to do so. Also has poisonous spit.

Personality

Blaze Barlech is the twin of Drake Barlech and the second half of the chaotic and mischievous duo. Blaze is younger then Drake by a few minutes and has to deal with Drake everytime he brags about being the oldest. Blaze is the less mischievous twin and constantly gets pranked by Drake but gets back at him pretty well by making more intricate pranks. He is the calmer of the two but still likes to cause mischief and chaos whenever Drake comes up with a dumb idea or prank. He is a bit of a bookworm and likes to spend his downtime reading. Will help you out with homework and is there to talk and more so the voice of reason over Drake.

Art by: @alpyssketch

[sormikbigbang]

Masterpost

We’ve come to the end of the SorMik Big Bang 2019! Before we move on to the master post for 2019, we would like to express our sincerest thanks to all of you. It has been a wild ride and us mods couldn’t thank our participants enough for being such lovely people to work with. There’ll also be a feedback form the participants can fill in! The link will be distributed through email and shared in our discord server. We would like to know how you think about us and how you would like us to improve through our feedback form!

If you missed your chance this year, don’t worry, we’ll be back again in 2020! Do stay tuned for some exciting information on where this event will be going next year!

Without further ado, here’s the master post for all entries of SorMik Big Bang 2019!

Masterpost

(Announcement: Not all artists/writers have posted their works yet, so this masterpost will be updated gradually as they post until everyone has posted.)

As Soft as Feathers by Kagaminekupcake | Art by Melly Mel (still yet to be posted) & KimmySnacks

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary:  Two kingdoms lay near one another, and with the queens sharing a friendship, they thought it only natural to continue the friendly relations through their successors. Prince Sorey and Prince Mikleo grew up, therefore, spending their summers together and sharing memories over the pages of dusty novels. However, upon Sorey’s near coronation, Selene informs Mikleo that she plans to betroth him to a princess of another land. Mikleo argues heatedly with her before storming out of the castle, but he was never seen afterwards. All Sorey could find in the rain was his circlet- a prized possession he knew Mikleo would never leave behind. Maybe the swan he discovers in the forest in the following days can give him a clue as to where Mikleo has gone…

Fanfic still yet to be posted by Dola625 | Art by  mallowkey 

Ranting:  General Audiences

Summary:  Luvdisc love fortune has set its sight upon a pair of childhood friends who need just an extra push with tons of water, a sunset and of course Mikleo and newly smitten Luvdisc.

La Fragilité Des Grues en Papier by Naminette | Art by Kinsdura

Ranting: Mature

Summary:  Was it possible that his mother's tales were true?  A sacred mountain where the Kamis' sanctuary lay. Away from the human world they lived in. Wings adorn their back, divine beings that were one with nature. This is were Mikleo place was, where he would be safe and happy. Until years after a plague broke into the village in the valley and a young human had no choice left but to seek the gods' help without knowing how it would change Mikleo's world.

Everything you left behind by Strikedawn | Art by Retto

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: After his uncle's death, Mikleo is forced to run away from his office for the weekend and tend to Camlann, Michael's old manor and his own childhood home. The house has seen better times-- Mikleo definitely won't be able to sell it like this.

(Does he even want to?)

But his uncle's metaphorical ghost isn't the only thing within those walls. There is Lailah and Zaveid, who have made of Camlann their house as much as Michael did. There is Sorey, with his lovely smile, his pure intentions, and his love for the decrepit house. They are everywhere in the house, making it theirs, making Mikleo feel... things. Mikleo definitely won't be able to sell the house like this.

(But then again--does he even want to?)

Demons, Mysteries, and Feathery Celestialness by Sage | Art by Oliver Niko & Vonderer

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary:  Sorey is a cop. When his current case turns out to involve elements both demonic and angelic, he suddenly finds himself both in over his head and with a new partner. Neither he nor the angel Mikleo are particularly happy to be saddled with each other. Can they work through their differences to solve the case?

Moon Phases by Melly Mel | Art by Raine 

Ranting: General Audiences

Summary: "The Sun has long fallen in love with the Moon and has done everything in his reach to conquer its heart, but the timid and stubborn Moon has always rejected it, afraid of these feelings. Time will teach that one cannot simply ignore such a strong and true love for so much time."

A story that tells how Sorey, the sun prince, falls ill for love after so many years trying to conquer the love of Mikleo, the moon prince, who’s not willing to believe him and misunderstand everything.

Fountain of Youth, the Elixir of Eternal Life by MegumitheGreat | Art by ZYO

Ranting: Explicit

Summary: At Lailah's request, Sorey and Mikleo take a break from their adventure and go through Pendago Shrinechurch's library. Coming across a legend titled "Shelanoir's Forest", they find themselves trapped within its pages and living the roles of the characters inside.

Resonance and Resistance by Eachainn | Art by Illium

Ranting: Mature

Summary: After eight years apart, Mikleo is more than ready to pick of the threads of the hopes and dreams that they had left drop when Sorey had left for Pendrago. But things are rarely that easy, especially when the Shepherds are involved. After all, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a Shepherd in possession of a good resonance must be in want of a seraph.

A Sormik Regency Era AU

Chasing Dreams by RoyalDelirium | Art by Mewnia

Ranting: General Audiences

Summary: And this is where their tale begins, they did not really know what would await them out there, but they had dreams to chase and questions to answer. As long as they were together nothing could escape their grasp.

The Best Tour by  Spectrum-sanctuary | Art by ArdentKnight & Unko (still yet to be posted)

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: In the archaic city of Ladylake where there are more canals than brick pathways, boats called gondolas are the major mode of transportation and location of work. The most renowned of these occupations are those who guide tourists around the romantic and historic marvels of the city while rowing the gondolas, the gondoliers.

Seventeen-year-old Mikleo is among them, renowned for not only being young but also graceful and skilled with the oar. When he meets the newly-arrived student Sorey in the city, his usual life among the waves and ruins transforms into a tale of adventure and excitement... and perhaps even love.

The Gang Crashes a Party While in Drag by Pengiesama | Art by Nami & Minstrels

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: Sorey and the crew investigate reports of a black market trafficking ring, and zero in on a particularly nasty noble at the center of it all. Luckily, said noble is opening his chateau to host a masquerade – the perfect opportunity to get close. Unluckily, the Shepherd’s fame has spread wide, and Sorey needs a disguise to make sure he’s incognito.

This is achieved by the obvious solution, and that's to disguise him in a dress and pass him off as Rose's sister. What could possibly go wrong?

Sir Sorey and the River Dragon by Treya-barton | Art by Kishi

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: Sir Sorey is a curious, gentle knight from the kingdom of Ladylake ruled by a fair and beautiful Queen. One day she is approached by a village with news that they are being plagued by a dragon that is blocking their access to a river they use for trade. Sir Sorey is sent on a quest to investigate this dragon in order to resolve the villager's dilemma.

The Benefits of Being Impulsive by  FortunesRevolver | Art by Aimi

Ranting: General Audiences

Summary: It had all started out of sheer spite -- Sorey’s own bizarre desperate need to prove to his grandfather that he wasn’t that impulsive. Really, if he really wanted impulsive, Sorey could be impulsive. Or, maybe, somewhere deep down, he’d just wanted to talk to the really, really pretty boy sitting by the pool with stunningly white hair who just happened to be holding a copy of his favorite book series ever.

Art by MegumitheGreat (Their writer wasn’t able to get to finish due to personal reasons, but still asked MegumitheGreat to post their art anyway because it’s so cool!) 

Trust, Betrayal and Beyond by Sabi | Art by Mikleohno

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: A long time ago, the country was separated into two factions: the Lotus faction and the Lily faction. Both factions had opposing ideals, which resulted in a war that lasted for decades. The war finally ended when the Lotus faction killed the Lily faction’s leader, thus bringing peace back to the land. Our story takes place a century later, focusing on Mikleo, the prince of the kingdom, who is doing everything he can to repair this country, as well as his new servant, Sorey, whose background is shrouded in mystery.

Eyes on the Horizon by Oliver Niko | Art by Siciel

Ranting: Mature

Summary: Mikleo is a nobleman kept captive for the magic he possesses. Sorey is a pirate, his crew determined to grant freedom to those with said magical capabilities.

The two are brought together not by this alone, but also by their similarities; the goal to do whatever it takes to protect Rolance's people from its corrupt emperor, and find the truth behind their missing mothers along the way.

The Color of Twilight by Luneath | Art by Succu (still yet to be posted)

Ranting: Teen And Up Audiences

Summary: “Ever since that day, Sorey has been looking for something. Desperately, yearningly, painfully. It's like chasing after a dream that’s hiding underneath his eyelids, almost there but not really. Just within reach, but could never be grasped fully. It’s like running after a figure — a blurred one, tinted blue, who owns half of his soul; his heart and his life. But he can’t remember. He knows, but never for sure. He just feels his heartstrings being tugged, but never to where or by whom. The more he tries to make sense of everything, the more he realizes it would hurt more to never find whatever’s — whoever’s gone. The only thing that gives him hope is the writing on his palm, tattooed in elusive curves that makes him feel warm and safe and nostalgic and a little like breaking. What’s written there, the meaning and the purpose — he doesn’t understand it at first. Not until some time. But even then, he swears he’s going to find whatever it is. And when he does, he’s never letting it go ever again."

[A Kimi no Na Wa (Your Name) AU featuring time travel, fluffy angst, switching bodies and switching lives, plus true loves and true names.]

Fanfic still yet to be posted by Miranda | Art by Okke (still yet to be posted) & Narain Yuna

Ranting: Explicit

Summary:  Clergyman!Sorey x Non-Believer!

Mikleo The heavy wooden doors opened and closed with an echo throughout the chapel, all but empty save for the decorative lanterns with the names of the twelve apostles lining the pillars leading up to the alter, the hand-carved plaques in the right-wing hallway depicting the Stations of the Cross of the same number donated by the generous family, and the overwhelming but whole-fully welcomed presence of Him which he felt. 

Sorey loved getting to do this-- well, he loved pretty much every aspect of his stay here as part of his training, but this was probably one of his top favorites: waking up to the early morning sun and say his morning prayers, picking some berries from his little garden as part of his breakfast before freshening up, and coming down to the church before Gramps arrived to start the day. He wasn't sure what made him want to say another morning prayer in the chapel when there was no need whatsoever. Perhaps it was simply just seminary habits or wanting the chapel to feel less... big? Lonely?

Or dusty? 

He chuckled at the thought and shaking his head, and joyfully continued to walk towards the alter. Thinking back to his childhood, it use to be a dark green stone like the rest of the flooring. In it's place now was a white marble with gray veins scattering sparingly here and there. Gramps wasn't sure who thought it was a good idea, and Sorey didn't really pay it much attention.

As he approached the alter and began to kneel, pulling out his mini prayer booklet from his pocket, the front double doors opened and closed yet again. Hm, strange, Sorey thought for a moment. Normally Gramps doesn't come in this early since traffic from... 

When he turned around to greet the wise old man who practically raised him from birth, Sorey was taken aback to see a young man with long dyed hair, faded black skinny jeans, and a somewhat revealing white and blue sweater with a v-neck that fell to show the side of his collar bone. Wait, was it dirty...?

It could've been the way he seemed to hold himself together-- just barely and could hardly seem like he wasn't shaking. It could've been the way his eyes, a deep blue from this distance, almost pleaded for mercy and safety. It could've just as easily been the way the light hit his unblemished face, his aquamarine tresses... 

Sorey knew, deep down, that he would never forget this moment. Someone or something must have whispered something to his heart or to his soul that day, to never let this memory go.

Fanfic still yet to be posted by Mogseltof | Art by Lynxlantern & Ammerynth (still yet to be posted)

Ranting: Mature

Summary: Since he was young, Sorey’s been friends with the curious, withdrawn sailor everyone in his seaside town avoids. Now he’s an adult, struggling to find material for his research, but his withdrawn friend has recently been made captain of his ship, and Sorey is offered the opportunity he’s been looking for -- the chance to get out of his town and see the places he’s actually researching. But Sorey has another reason to want to be out on the sea; they say there are mermaids in the waves, and Sorey has to know if his memories ring true, or if he imagined the boy in the river so many years ago. However, the voices of the dead sing loudly from the deep, and the captain is hiding something that may get them all in trouble.

We hope you enjoy the masterpieces made by our talented participants! See you again next year!

[randomidiocyncrazies]

i got back into zestiria lately and like... i dig the characters and i think the setting has a lot of potential, but good god the plot is a railroad-y mess

SPOILERS

tbh the treatment of Cardinal Forton really bothers me. the whole point of her was that there are people in the world who are so set in their harmful ways that you can’t change them—the only way to stop them from preying on or harming other people is to kill them. personally i don’t agree with this type of rhetoric, but it could potentially lead to interesting character development. BUT

the reason why you can’t purify her hellion form and Sorey “has to” kill her is the most half-hearted hand-wavey bullshit, especially since later on you have a priest dude who buys into his own bullshit (with help from the bad guys) so much so that he commits mass murder of the poor and thinks it’s justice—and he isn’t a hellion because he’s so deluded that he doesn’t recognize his actions as evil at all. on the other hand, the cardinal being a hellion implies that she does realize her actions are harmful, but clings to her ways because she cannot see another way out for Rolance in her despair/desperation (”the people must be united”). imo theoretically she could be redeemed, but the game just tells you have to kill her because “she’s too into her own BS and can’t be changed.” if they wanted an arc like that, it’d make more sense for the two character’s position to be switched—the big bad who you HAVE TO kill ~because the game tells you to~ as someone who refuses to acknowledge the harm they do to innocent people and will continue harming people if left unchecked, and the one who gets to live (but is arrested) as someone who acknowledges their wrongdoing deep down but commits harm in desperation

honestly... i kinda think they just wanted a snake titty monster boss fight lol (it’s interesting, to me, that the female villain Must Be Killed but the serial killer priest dude is just arrested)

i love how Sorey and Mikleo geek out over history and ruins, but because they mostly only reference ancient history that the players have no context for—and it’s mostly in skits/optional dialogue where it comes up—it isn’t integrated as smoothly into the plot as it could be. the reveal that there was a previous shepherd ~20-30 years ago and the age of chaos only started in earnest a couple of decades ago could’ve been better foreshadowed if the boys actively make wild theories about these topics, which they then confirm/revise according to the earthen historia. i do appreciate the ancient history stuff a lot, but i wish there was a balance of recent and ancient history discussion

I gotta say i’m still? trying to reconcile the timeline??? Heldalf became Lord of Calamity after Michael cursed him, that that stuff happened when Sorey was a baby because Muse met Zenrus who was holding baby!Sorey (so 17-18 years ago)? but also people act like the age of chaos had been going on for generations...? and people talk about the Celestial Record like it’s been around for ages...? i buy that Michael omitted the fact he’s a shepherd which is why “the last shepherd existed 200 years ago”, but i’m having a hard time with the rest of it

also this is a pet peeve but because lailah has her oath she has to act silly and divert attention for most of the game, which unfortunately led to her not getting as much character development imo. it’s also kind of a shame they didn’t do more with the tension that inherently comes with obviously hiding important secrets from everyone else. she just looks kinda sad sometimes and that’s it?

i... i honestly don’t get Dezel’s back story. the implication is that Dezel cursed the prince into becoming a hellion(?) but i don’t really understand the mechanics behind it. in fact the first time i thought the issue was that because he blessed the Windriders, they stood out too much and caught the attention of a high ranking hellion, and his guilt comes from ‘making them a target’ or whatever (also they uh kinda just ignored the part where he regularly hijacked Rose’s body without her knowledge or consent huh. what’s up with that)

i’m not rly bothered that Rose doesn’t mind, but the fact that the game makes it sound like getting possessed w/o your knowledge to pull off badass stunts is a Good Thing Actually sure was a perspective

[pengiesama]

Home for the Holidays (Fic, TOZ, Sorey/Mikleo)

Title: Home for the Holidays Series: Tales of Zestiria Pairing: Sorey/Mikleo

Summary: It's Shepherdsmas Eve, and Sorey and Mikleo are preparing to host dinner at their place. Then Maotelus rips a hole in reality and accidentally resurrects their dead biological family as seraphim.

Meeting the in-laws for the first time is always awkward.

Part of the Sormik Advent Calendar 2019, for the “12 Days of Christmas"/"12 Pains of Christmas” prompt “Meeting the In-Laws”.

@sormikadventcalendar / sormikadvent (Twitter)

Link: AO3

Read on Tumblr!

“Hi,” Maotelus said, popping his head out of the chimney and into the fireplace.

Mikleo screamed, dropping the tray of sweets and hot chocolate he was carrying with a loud crash.

“Merry Shepherdsmas Eve,” Maotelus continued, undeterred. “Sorry to drop in unannounced, but got a quick question for you. I kinda did something that might’ve torn a rift in the Earthpulse and I need someone to keep an eye on a few things while I figure things out down there before it eats reality. And ruins Shepherdsmas.”

“Wh—wh—” Mikleo sputtered, trying to get a handle on the situation he was being presented.

“Mikleo? I heard a crash, are you okay?” Sorey poked his head into the room. “Mao? When did you get here?”

“Sorey!” Maotelus greeted warmly. The red pom-pom hat he was wearing had caught fire while he dangled upside-down over the fireplace. “Merry Shepherdsmas Eve. Listen, I need you two to babysit some new seraphim that popped out of a teensy tiny little fissure in the Earthpulse that I caused while I was trying to break someone out of Hell Prison.”

“Oh,” Sorey said. “Um. That sounds fine?”

Mikleo made a strangled quacking noise, like a furious, confused duck. Sorey gently reached out and hugged him around the shoulders, stroking his long hair back from his face.

“It’ll be fine, Mikleo, it’s just hosting some guests! That’s what Shepherdsmas is all about, right?”

“Shepherdsmas was originally observed as a religious holiday in the Asgard era and was intended by the human religious authorities as an extremely solemn and boring occasion to reflect upon the accomplishments and sacrifices of past Shepherds,” Mikleo said flatly. “And today it is mostly about buying presents.”

“Sounds like someone needs to learn about the true meaning of Shepherdsmas,” Maotelus commented.

Mikleo sounded like he was about to explode. “EVERY YEAR! EVERY YEAR YOU SAY THAT AND EVERY YEAR WE’RE CLEANING UP THE MESS FOR DAYS AFTER—”

The air shimmered with iridescent energy, and the earth rumbled ominously.

“Okay I gotta go now have fun with your guests and by the way they’re the seraphic reincarnations of your biological human families be back soon!”

Maotelus blew out the fire in the fireplace with a puff of breath, darted up the chimney, and stuffed a big red bag down after him. The red bag landed in the fireplace, and wriggled this way and that, as if stuffed full of living creatures.

…like the seraphic reincarnations of their former human families.

The bag tumbled over, and the tie at the top was finally yanked open from the inside.

There were two women; one, Muse, as Mikleo dimly remembered her from that tiny, lonely room in the Mabinogio Ruins so many centuries ago. Her hair had turned a shining pearl white, with green tips. The other woman, with white-red hair, was unfamiliar, but had Sorey’s wide green eyes, and a distinctive resemblance besides. Selene, he remembered her name, and her name alone. To his shame, he knew nothing else about the woman…but the way she clung to Muse’s arm, seeking comfort, was a start.

The other bag inhabitants were…

…not quite the kind of seraphim they had expected.

“Get that ratty tail of yours out of my face!” snapped a bluish-purple Normin.

He shoved another Normin away from him, who fell to the floor with a sound resembling a squeaky toy. This Normin had a small lion’s tail, and a mane that caused his beret to not fit quite right. The lionesque Normin flailed furiously, like an upended turtle.

“Another life! Another life and another chance to take my revenge on you and this miserable world!” snarled the lionesque Normin.

The bluish-purple Normin spotted a fireplace poker, and immediately went for it. Muse yelled in dismay and picked him up before he could grab it.

“Um…” Sorey cleared his throat. “Merry Shepherdsmas?”

Their guests startled, only seeming to just realize they were in someone else’s house, and being watched. Muse’s gaze fell on Sorey first, then Mikleo. Her eyes were clear, unclouded, focused; not like their sightless gaze from their last meeting. She stared at him; stared right into those eyes that matched her own.

It was a long moment before Mikleo could find the words to speak.

“Hello,” Mikleo said quietly. “I don’t know what Maotelus told you, if anything. But, you’re seraphim. This is a land called Glenwood. Do you remember anything from before he plucked you from the Earthpulse?”

“Mikleo?” Muse asked, her voice trembling. Tears welled in her eyes. “A-are you my Mikleo?”

It was odd, being hugged so tightly and loved so desperately by someone he didn’t know at all.

 --

 “Michael,” Lailah said sternly. “Stop fighting with your tablemates. It’s Shepherdsmas and we must put past squabbles behind us.”

“I am one of the Shepherds in that Shepherdsmas,” Michael replied. “And that means that I can squabble as I choose to.”

Everyone was trying very hard to enjoy their annual Shepherdsmas dinner. Michael and Heldalf – for it was indeed they who had reincarnated into Normin forms – were strapped into makeshift baby highchairs and were currently locked in a ceaseless battle of wills. This took the form of Michael throwing his vegetables at Heldalf and Heldalf making grand and impotent threats as he was steadily coated in mashed potatoes.

Mikleo didn’t know why this kind of thing always happened when it was his and Sorey’s turn to host dinner at their place.

“I shall bring darkness down upon this world! Malevolence to smother out suffering!” Heldalf yowled, thrashing in place in his highchair.

“I shall bring peas upon your head,” Edna replied, scattering a handful of peas on top of the mashed potatoes covering him. “Man, Meebo, your uncle is way cooler than you. This is the best Shepherdsmas ever.”

“Michael, please,” Muse pleaded. “Mikleo, he’s not usually – well, no, he is usually like this, but…”

“It’s fine,” Mikleo assured her.

And honestly, it was; Mikleo was used to the house being a mess after these dinners. And beyond that, he didn’t have strong feelings about his uncle, even knowing his…contributions to what happened during that time. It was just so long ago, and he didn’t remember him at all. Or anything, from back then. One of the perks of living such a long life was the ability to have all such things lost to the mists of time.

But unfortunately, it would take some time for these new recruits to adapt. Surely it would’ve been more merciful for Maotelus to keep their memories from back then locked away.

For all Mikleo’s awkwardness with his biological mother, it hardly compared to the palpable awkwardness between Sorey and Selene.

“…”

“…”

“…good chicken,” Selene commented, poking the meat on her plate.

“Yeah,” Sorey replied. “It’s, um. Really good.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…I put some spices on it.”

“A-ah. Yeah.”

“…”

“…”

Mikleo couldn’t really blame Selene for being disoriented. Surprise, you’re alive again, it’s a thousand years in the future, and that premature baby you thought was probably going to die right after you died is actually alive and well and also saved the world a while back and is now an immortal being of the elements. He could deal with her reaction to the information a lot more easily than he could Muse’s – Selene reacted to these things like Sorey did, after all; by going quiet and inward to process. Mikleo could handle that. He would give them space and hover on the sidelines to fret. But Muse was hovering, herself, and fretting a whole lot, and was still clearly eaten up by guilt and trying way too hard to make things okay when things weren’t un-okay in the first place and he’d just really like some space. Every time she tried to reach out and awkwardly touch his arm he’d flinch away from the unfamiliar contact and she was clearly taking that as some sort of sign that he hated her. Mikleo understood for the first time in his life why humans disliked family gatherings so much. He wanted to set a fire on the table, grab Sorey by the wrist, and escape off into the winter night.

“So…” Zaveid said, bravely steaming in to steer the conversation. “Wind and fire, huh? I got some know-how about that kinda magic, if you ladies need a teacher…”

The table went dead silent again. After a few moments, a handful of mashed potatoes hit Zaveid square in the nose.

“Who keeps giving him more potatoes!?” Muse outburst, somewhat hysterical.

“That’d be me,” Edna said, holding out the serving bowl of mashed potatoes to Michael so he could refill his plate with ammo.

“Everyone,” Lailah announced, rising to her feet. “On this day, this Shepherdsmas, we are here together as a family, to come together and celebrate togetherness…”

“Together and stuff,” Michael said under his breath. Edna snickered.

“MFF,” said Heldalf, under a mountain of muck.

“And so,” Lailah went on. “We should give thanks and reflect upon the meaning of the season…”

“Um,” Selene quietly interrupted. “I’ve been meaning to ask…Shepherdsmas. That’s a…thing now?”

“Oh, yes indeed,” Lailah said. “Please don’t hesitate to ask things, dear, I’m sure you have questions.”

Selene gave an awkward smile, and Mikleo felt his heart warm at how the expression so resembled Sorey.

“T-thanks. Back…back then, I guess, I thought it was just some thing the Shrinechurch made up to let them trot out a fake Shepherd and scam donations out of people…”

“Well,” Sorey began. “Historical sources indicate that was definitely the case for the holiday during several periods. But when resonance started to improve and humanity began to establish stronger ties with the seraphim again, it started to gradually change form, eventually becoming the gift-giving exchange it represents today…”

Sorey was in his element, infodumping on history, and when Sorey was comfortable, Mikleo was comfortable. Selene began to relax in turn – Sorey’s good moods were truly contagious – and with Selene and Mikleo soothed, Muse herself settled as well. Even Michael’s potato assault began to peter off in the face of Sorey’s continued lecture.

They could count another Shepherdsmas as saved.

 --

 Everyone else was asleep for the night, sequestered in guest rooms, and Mikleo and Sorey finally had some time to themselves.

Mikleo sighed deeply, allowing himself to decompress to the rhythm of Sorey’s heartbeat under his ear, and the feeling of his fingers in his hair.

“It’s always a surprise with Shepherdsmas, isn’t it?” Sorey said.

Mikleo grunted. “At least when your friend gets it in his head to mess around in the Earthpulse. Or get drunk. Or both.”

Sorey laughed, and Mikleo’s mood couldn’t stay sour for long at the sound of it.

“I guess. But the weather tonight is so cozy, and everyone’s asleep now, so…”

Mikleo could guess at what he was implying. He closed his eyes, leaning in, pressing against Sorey’s mouth with his own…

A flash of light filled the room, and in an instant, there was a cat-sized white dragon sitting in the branches of their Shepherdsmas tree; tangled in the lights.

“Okay, now that’s cleared up,” Maotelus said. “A little more help fell out of the rift in space-time. It’s a Shepherdsmas miracle.”

“Hello boys,” Zenrus said warmly. “Good to see you again.”

Sorey and Mikleo startled, and leapt from their spot on the couch to greet him.

“Gramps!”

“By the way, I’ll be doing this again sometime,” Maotelus said. “Hell Prison ain’t easy to jailbreak. I’ll try to grab your two squires next time though – they ran away from me when they saw me for some reason.”

“Were you a giant dragon at the time?” asked Sorey.

“I was a giant dragon at the time,” Maotelus confirmed. “And breathing fire.”

“Hmm,” Sorey said.

“Hmm indeed,” Maotelus said. “But it was still pretty rude, I think.”

[ice-cream-beat]

Tales of Zestiria Perfect Guide Translation

The Beginning of Calamity

T/N: This covers everything on Camlann, including some new bits on Michael’s past. Major game spoilers!

How did the Age of Chaos envelop the world? The source of that chaos is the Lord of Calamity, whose creation was influenced by the previous Shepherd, Michael. The journey of the current Shepherd, Sorey, is tied closely to that man’s fate.

Shepherd Michael’s Journey

Michael was the Shepherd around twenty years ago, having assumed the role at a young age because of his outstanding qualities. Alongside his Prime Lord, Lailah, he traveled the world purifying hellions. His goal was to restore faith in Maotelus and the other seraphim, but at that time malevolence was heavily affecting the world, and his journey became a series of disappointments. Although he existed only a generation ago, few people remember his name, which can be considered a sign of the world’s indifference.

Relocating Maotelus In those days Maotelus was enshrined in the church in Pendrago, but his existence was threatened by the malevolence in the city. When Michael learned of this, he took Maotelus from the church and moved him to the place known as Artorius’ Throne near Elysia. Although these ruins had once been a shrine to the Five Lords, humans had long since forgotten about them and they were untouched by malevolence. Lailah advised that he protect Maotelus’ new location, and so Michael founded a village nearby with a few other believers. He afterwards dissolved his pact with Lailah, retiring as Shepherd and beginning a new life based on his faith.

The Development of Camlann Michael founded Camlann, the Origin Village, along with others who shared his fervor in worshipping seraphim. Many of them possessed high resonance and were able to see seraphim, including his younger sister, Muse. Because of the villagers’ deep faith, they were able to coexist with seraphim just as humans had in ancient times. This made Camlann into a sacred ground free of malevolence and a safe haven for Maotelus.

Writing the Celestial Record The author of the Celestial Record is a worldwide mystery--but Michael was the one who wrote it after retiring as the Shepherd. Drawing from his experience, opinions, and nationwide journey, he wrote extensively about the geography of different locations and the legacies of various civilizations, as well as his research into the historical time periods of the divided countries, and also included his input on their archaeology.

Caption: After retiring as Shepherd, Michael wrote the book that was later loved by men and women of all ages, and demonstrated the importance of revisiting history.

Character blurb: Michael After retiring as Shepherd, he didn’t seek to educate the public, but instead gathered a small group of believers with the focus of protecting the seraphim.

Character blurb: Muse Possessing a resonance that rivaled her brother’s, Muse supported Michael both publicly and personally. Her biological son, Mikleo, was later reincarnated as a seraph.

The Conflict of the Three Countries

At the same time that Michael founded Camlann, Rolance’s military was becoming active under the leadership of Heldalf, chief of the empire’s Knight Order. To battle the threat of Hyland’s invasion, he set his sights on establishing a foothold in Camlann, which he had believed to be an ancient ruin. The land was defended from Hyland in the east by the Mabinogio mountain range and sat on the western bank of the strait dividing Rolance and the northern country. As such, it was considered a buffer zone between the three countries and a strategic military location. When Heldalf discovered its value, he ignored Michael’s objections and seized the village. However, Hyland wanted the village for the same reason, and its army soon invaded. Wary of the northern country taking advantage of the chaos, Heldalf decided to abandon Camlann. The Rolance army withdrew and the Hyland army ravaged the village, ultimately destroying it only a few years after its foundation.

Maotelus’ Hellionization As Hyland attacked Camlann, Maotelus absorbed a large amount of malevolence and became a hellion. Because he was such a powerful seraph, his hellionization would eventually guide the world to ruin. Fearful of this possibility, Muse used herself as a human sacrifice to hold his malevolence in check. Maotelus remained sealed within the ruins of Artorius’ Throne for nearly twenty years--until he was used by the Lord of Calamity, Heldalf.

Caption: Maotelus disappeared after the destruction of Camlann, and his blessing was lost.

Heldalf’s Downfall and the Fulfillment of His Curse Despite Heldalf’s promise, he abandoned the village, and Michael made a oath-like curse in retribution. From that point on, Heldalf--who had many political opponents and was no stranger to attempts on his life--fell from his position of power due to the blame for his failure in Camlann, and found himself abandoned by his allies. His entire family succumbed to mysterious deaths, plaguing him with sorrow, and his beloved son was tragically born with an inhuman appearance. After this chain of events, he finally took his own life, but his body wouldn’t die. Filled with despair, he disappeared. Abandoned by time, he went on living in his “eternity of solitude,” and Michael’s curse was realized. The Lord of Calamity turned his back on the world, and Michael faded into history without ever knowing the disastrous consequences he had caused as the price for his vengeance

The Successors of the Land of Hope The only survivors of Camlann were Muse, who ultimately sacrificed herself, as well as Sorey and Mikleo, who were only infants at the time. Zenrus took them back to Elysia, where they grew to adulthood as best friends and were entrusted with his hope that they would one day become Shepherd and Sub-Lord. A human and seraph born on the land founded in reverence to seraphim, they could become the key to understanding the past and give the world new hope.

Caption: Following his death and the reincarnation of his soul, Mikleo was born again as a seraph and entrusted to Zenrus.

[applegelstore]

Fic: The Magic Flute, Violin, Viola, and Clarinet

Tales of Zestira, Gen

(what else)

Summary:

Little Rose makes friends with some other kids in the orchestra. She then proceeds to incorporate her new friends into her business plans.

AO3 Link here!

Or hit the cut to read on tumblr!

Hey look it has pictures. If you’re ONLY here for those, check out the post with the isolated pictures! (also because tumblr fucks up pictures within posts)

CREDITS:

@jadeluminescence wrote a few lines; namely, she fueled me on tumblr with ideas for the weird magical girl powers that little Sorey comes up with; I really wanted to include her ideas because it warmed my ice cold heart with warm and fuzzy feelings to see somebody else adding to my ideas on their own volition.

@pengiesama was so infinitely kind and beta’d for me to make my sentences 100% better readable. All remaining mistakes and bad decisions are my own. She also wrote me two one-shots from that same universe earlier, so if you enjoyed this, I highly recommend you check out her take on the theme! Here’s the AO3 Links: One Two

Rose was about nine-something years old when she met Sorey and Mikleo. They played in the same junior orchestra that she recently got into, and soon they’d go to the same school together in Marlind, so it was in everyone’s best interest that they’d get along. It was additionally in Rose’s best interest to get along with Alisha.

Alisha Diphda was the latest addition to the junior orchestra, and clearly needed Rose’s guidance. What else would you expect from the illegitimate daughter of some filthy rich dude of old noble ancestry? She’d been raised in some big fancy mansion and, up until recently, had been homeschooled by private tutors. She was very lost in this world, and Rose was the one who would have to teach her social skills. But that was okay – Rose had already planned to sit behind her in every class so she could drop frogs down her blouse, as needed. She’d simply draft up some paperwork to take her share of the Diphda family’s business as compensation for her hard work.

It aligned with Rose’s business plans that neither Alisha nor the boys were particularly hard to get along with, and they seemed to share her ambitious plans for the junior orchestra (such as playing with the adults some day, and patiently explaining to them that it was very cool to play the opening song  from your favourite show on your clarinet even though you were supposed to practice that Mozart piece whose name you forgot because usually they were all just named “etude in G major” or whatever.)

However, despite the easy familiarity, the boys were profoundly weird. They were both able to remember with terrifying accuracy which piece was part of which opera, or oratorio, or symphony, and which composer had written the particular “etude in G major” that they were currently playing. Sorey didn’t really mind if you pointed that out to him – he would just grin at you, and continue to blabber about what you had previously pointed out as weird. Mikleo did mind it, but he brought it upon himself, really. It was one thing, and plainly a fact, that some people needed glasses – but it was another thing to wear blue-rimmed fat spectacles that covered almost half his face, screamed “I sit in the first row at school,” and looked like they were pulled straight out of a cartoon.

Alisha was. Well. Alisha.

They had gathered at Mikleo’s house in the (terribly tiny and irritatingly quiet) town of Camlann to practice their parts for their first orchestra performance together – mostly because they were out of other options. Sorey’s house was next door, but his parents were basically never at home, and he might as well have lived with Mikleo and his mum. Rose was an orphan and lived in a crowded little place with a friend of her late father and various members of his rock band. In the same house lived Dezel, whom she valued as the only person who could counter her throwing kazoos – as every good adoptive big brother should be able to do. However, there was no way Alisha’s father would allow her to come to a place like that, so it wasn’t even worth discussing.

The downside of Mikleo’s place was that it was Sunday, and they never really got much practice done there on Sundays. Sundays meant that Uncle Michael was at home.

(Uncle Michael was, of course, only Mikleo’s uncle – but since Mikleo shared basically everything with Sorey, why shouldn’t they share Uncle Michael as well? This was why Rose only ever heard of him as “Uncle Michael”. The first time she had come to visit, Michael brought a tiny reconstruction of an ancient hydraulic organ. The boys had been so fascinated with it that they wouldn’t do anything unless it involved the organ. She had to admit that it had been fun to play with the pipes, and to see what happens if you blow into them, and to annoy Mikleo because “that’s not how you play an organ”. Sometimes Mikleo’s mum would come in, smile at everyone, bring them waffles with whipped cream and maple syrup, ruffle Michael’s hair, and leave again. All of this without anyone batting an eye or making a comment.)

Michael burst into the living room and yelled: “I brought new samples!”

Sorey and Mikleo visibly lit up, and promptly dropped their instruments, so apparently this particular scenario of Uncle Michael bringing home “samples” took place on a regular basis and needed no further explanation. The “samples” were a whole assortment of smaller items, presumably more reconstructions of ancient instruments, and a big one wrapped in cloth that made it look like a tube.

Michael arranged the smaller ones on the floor for the children to see. Rose really liked the ancient harp because it was made of bones and a turtle’s shell. Alisha, however, was clearly disgusted. She idly plucked the strings on the wooden lyre, though.

Another item looked like a fly swatter without a net, except it had interesting metal pins stuck through its sides. They looked like spoons, but Rose figured they would still make decent spikes if need be. She gripped one of them between two fingers, but was stopped in her tracks.

“I think you’re supposed to rattle it,” Sorey whispered.

Rose shot him a glare. She fully expected some weird curse to fall upon them when they used the rattle, or a dragon to fall from the skies and eat them up for breakfast. She greatly preferred the latter option because she disliked ghost stories and disapproved of curses that were laid upon her without her being able to physically touch and punch the culprit.

“Rose, you also play winds, don’t you? This one should be more to your liking,” Michael said and unwrapped the big package.

It looked like a wooden cannon, and had white and red animals painted on the outside, which Sorey and Mikleo clearly appreciated if Sorey’s little squeals of delight were anything to go by. Rose expected him to start discussing which cave painting this reminded him of.

“It’s called a didgeridoo,” Michael announced and gestured the children to sit still, watch and listen. “They’re still used in folk music in Zaphgott Moor, so this is a new one, fresh from the man who built it. But they’ve been in use for at least three thousand years. I’ve been thinking about investigating their relation to the woodwinds used in Hyland at that time.”

“What does it sound like?” Mikleo asked.

Michael brought the mouthpiece to his lips and blew into it to demonstrate. The didgeridoo made a deep, deep humming noise that sounded distinctively different from any instrument used in a modern orchestra. It piqued Rose’s interest for being exotic, and potentially exploitable. If all else failed, she could surely just drop it on people’s heads if she didn’t like their opinions.

Alisha and the boys stared at Michael with wide eyes. Rose could have sworn there were sparkles in them.

“Who wants to try?” Michael asked them and handed over the didgeridoo.

Mikleo sat in the middle, so he stretched out his hands to take it. It wasn’t as heavy as it looked, but it was unwieldy. This didn’t keep the other kids from clinging to his back and shoulders. Rose peeked into the mouthpiece to check for any curses or dragons.

“Don’t lean on me,” Mikleo complained, which earned him a pout from Sorey that he didn’t see. “I wanna try this and you’re in the way.”

The didgeridoo was bigger than any of the kids were tall, so Mikleo opted to stand on the sofa to blow into it. The sound it made wasn’t exactly what any of the children expected. Because it didn’t sound anything like what Michael had just done with it, and instead sounded more like what happens when you pout and then blow through your closed lips. Except with a loud echo.

It wasn’t what Mikleo expected to come out of the things he usually blew into at all, and he backed away from the instrument with a slightly disgusted face. Sorey fell over and rolled with laughter.

“I’m still figuring this out,” Mikleo grumbled.

“See how big it is and how large the mouthpiece is designed?” Michael explained with admirable patience. He wasn’t usually patient enough to deal with anyone (child or not) who couldn’t immediately follow his university-level lectures on additive rhythm in music composed during the Temperance of Avarost. People had reported first-semester students leaving with headaches. Luckily, he had more empathy for a lack of air in a tiny boy’s lungs. “There’s no way you could make high-pitched sounds with this like you would with a C-tuned standard Hyland concert flute. It also means you can’t purse your lips the same way you do with your flute. See?”

Mikleo nodded in understanding.

Rose nodded in a different kind of understanding. She drew Sorey and Alisha close and mumbled low: “Do you think the people in Zaphgott Moor would pay good money to see their traditional giant music cannon thingy on a big stage?”

“There should be a movie with those!” Sorey decided. “A musical! To show how the magic in the instruments works.” He waved his hands around to explain. Which didn’t help at all, but he wasn’t bothered by such trivialities.

“Magic?” Alisha piped up.

“Yep! Like, the didgeridoo would be used as a cannon in ancient days. It’s the heroes’ secret weapon which can only be used if they all combine their magic powers into one to create the force of void!”

Rose didn’t dare to ask which powers, but luckily (or unfortunately?) Alisha did it for her. Even Mikleo let the didgeridoo be for a second and turned back to them with one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

“So, imagine if we could all summon magic with the songs we play? Like the heroes in the ancient myths?” Sorey babbled on. “You know what happens if you wear one of these cheap sweaters and then rub Oysh’s fur and get an electric shock? Imagine if I could send shocks like these from my violin strings!”

“What’s my power then?” Mikleo inquired.

“How about you can control the flow of water if you play your flute? And when you play staccatos, the water freezes!”

“And what does the piano do?”

“That one can make the water dance! The louder you play, the bigger the drops!”

This was going into a direction Rose could get behind. “Well, what’s my ability?” she asked.

“Rose, you can… uuuuuh, shoot knives out of your clarinet.”

Rose narrowed her eyes. “That’s not magic.”

“It would totally be magic if you could fit knives into a clarinet’s mouthpiece,” Michael pointed out, but he was ignored.

“I’m still thinking!” Sorey retorted. “Alisha can make magical sound waves!”

Mikleo raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t we just establish that we all have magical sound waves? You should make up your mind how the song magic works before you assign any powers to us.”

“You wanted me to make up powers for you!”

“Excuse me for assuming you had thought ahead then. I should have known better.”

Sorey opted to tackle him and throw him off the sofa to tickle him. The resulting scene resembled kittens at play – always going for the necks but miraculously always being left unharmed in the process. Alisha looked down at them in shock. Clearly she had never been in a good old pillow fight brawl. Rose had so much yet to teach her.

Michael silently gathered his “samples” to get them out of the way of harm, so all of this was presumably normal. He waited until both boys were out of breath from laughter and leaned their backs on the sofa. Michael crouched down in front of them and tousled Sorey’s hair. Mikleo was already busy fixing his own (and his glasses).

“So, to get back to the topic. What’s your expert opinion? How’s the tuning?”

“The flutes all sound weird. Like half a note off,“ Mikleo mumbled.

“More like three quarters,” Sorey added. “The lyres were also three quarters. All of them.”

“I liked the sistrum,” Rose chirped.

“Well, they’re modeled after instruments used roughly two thousand years and some ago, so naturally they must be tuned differently than your modern standard Hyland concert tuned instruments. Thank you, guys. I knew I could count on you.”

He left the children alone to play. Or to continue practicing; whatever they’d fancy. Except Sorey couldn’t concentrate for the life of him. He picked up his violin and glanced down at it with longing.

Sorey usually only looked that sad when you tried to take Mikleo-time away from him for some reason. And making Sorey sad was very much like kicking a puppy. Rose would never kick a puppy, even if Dezel wasn’t there to scold anyone who’d dare, but she just knew that she wouldn’t be able to bear the guilt of doing it. It was the same with trying to imagine making Sorey sad on purpose. You just didn’t do it. There were evil people, and there were people so wicked to the bone that they kicked puppies and made Sorey sad. She would never be one of them. She was a good girl, after all. She understood the gravity of the whole situation.

“You know… it would really be cool if we could summon magic with our music. We could make it rain if it’s too dry in the summer, or summon wind to make the old windmill run, and save kittens from trees,” Sorey mused.

Mikleo wiggled close to him again and silently guided him to lay his head on his shoulder. Sorey accepted with a dramatic sigh. There was a minute of silence.

“I would love to know how you save kittens from trees with music,” Alisha eventually offered.

Cute, but Alisha still wasn’t seeing the full potential of things.

“I would love to see you show a bit more business sense!” Rose scolded. “It would make a great show, don’t you think? Captain Sorey and his merry music friends saving the world with the power of music! Every week! But we still have to add some murder and mystery and a giant space monster who was banished from the realm of giant space monsters to earth as punishment for enraging the queen of the elves, otherwise it’s boring.”

Sorey beamed. “I don’t know about a show, but we could make it an opera! Then we can make Lailah sing the part of the queen of the elves.”

Rose nodded gravely and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Leave it to Rose Sparrowfeather. She’s got big plans. If she’s to stay in this orchestra, she’s gonna make it big. I’m gonna give your old Gramps a hint that it would be a cool birthday present.”

It took a little longer than little Rose would have anticipated. More than eight years.

But now, she was finally basking in the feeling of seeing the final product of her production on stage. It was surprisingly high quality for an opera whose plot was the product of a nine-year-old’s vivid imagination, and which dealt with a bunch of kids saving the world from evil forces with the power of music and also friendship. It had been a bit of a challenge, since Zenrus’ orchestra was a bit peculiar. It wasn’t a full in-house orchestra with contract-bound musicians and a choir; it was a hobbyist orchestra. A good hobbyist orchestra, mind you. You had to audition to get in. But you were not bound to stay, and you weren’t paid either. People moved. People got new jobs. People lost interest. And Zenrus was only a good natured professor emeritus who didn’t want to fully retire yet, and he had little funds to compensate his people for what they were doing. Ticket sales went to an allowance for special expenditures. Many of the people stayed for years (Sorey and Mikleo had pretty much been born into it. It was probably okay that they had had little say in the matter as infants because they never complained). It was great, in a way. It was refreshing, and welcoming, because you got to know many different people who all actually wanted to be there.

It was fun, but it wasn’t ambitious enough yet to support the dreams of a bunch of nine- or ten-year-olds.

Zenrus had insisted on writing the music himself – anything for little Sorey (Nevermind Sorey was no longer little.) That was the easy part. The part that actually took Rose eight years was growing up, and letting her ambitions grow alongside her.

She procured a loan from a source she didn’t tell anybody about to get some top-notch solo singers. The light show was a sight to behold. Milla had offered to provide some special effects for the magic music that the protagonists would be producing, but Zenrus had gently but insistently argued against real fire on stage, or a landslide. But he granted that a bit of rain and wind wouldn’t hurt, as long as the orchestra wasn’t in range to get watered like a bunch of flowers, or have their sheet music blown away by the fans.

By now, Zenrus was living his dream of adopting a collection of small kids who may or may not need actual adoption by mentoring a ten-year-old named Laphicet (or Phi, for short.) Phi would have jumped a cliff for the chance to conduct an opera (if his aunt didn’t stop him in the process), so he stood next to Zenrus during all the performances to learn what he could. Since little Phi was already taller than him, and also had such an obnoxiously wide smile on his face that it visibly lit up the entire orchestra hall, it was hard to overlook him. The main difficulty for the orchestra was following what Zenrus was doing with his baton, not what Phi was doing (He tried his best to copy Zenrus’ movements, and he did a good job on it, too, but it was still distracting to see this little kid stealing the entire show.)

It was worth the effort, though. Phi’s presence added to the performance. Nobody even dared to think of talking him out of the idea that the singers on stage were his chosen holy warriors and he was the god of the conductor’s baton.

Rose basked in the spotlights as they highlighted her during the applause, stepping in front of the stage, ready to (more or less) humbly accept the cheers that were due for her job as producer. And oh dear, did she bask in it.

Two weeks after the premiere, Rose counted the sold tickets. A broad grin split her face as she waved a sheet with the final count in front of Sorey’s face.

“So? You happy with your own personal little opera?” Rose said and tried to rest her elbow on Sorey’s shoulder. “Tried,” because he was like almost a head taller than her, and she had a nagging suspicion that he wasn’t even done growing yet. But she was athletic and always up for a challenge.

He beamed. “I love it! My favourite thing is the light effects and the waterfall scene with the rainbow.”

“No shit. I was talking about the sales, but okay. Good old Zenrus sure knows his craft. And I bet Lailah’s aria alone would have been enough to squeeze that applause out of the audience every damn time. I told ya the minute you slap classical music over it, the people eat up everything as high culture. Shakespeare. Offenbach. Just everything about the Magic Flute. I mean, our plot isn’t much dumber. See what I mean?”

“Well, I do. But Shakespeare’s plays were the Renaissance equivalent of soap operas, and nobody took Schikaneder’s libretto seriously even after Mozart had written music for it…”

“Ksh. Ksssssh. We’re no longer friends if you keep talking.” Rose punched him gently in the shoulder when she couldn’t keep up leaning on it any longer. “So. What next? Phi told me you made friends with his aunt and her metal band…”

[archerazzure]

4, 8 :P, 10, 14 (Zaveid or Eizen not applicable answers for obvious reasons), 15, and 16

These got long so I’m gonna put them under a read more just so I’m not flooding people’s dashes.Thank you for them though. xD

4. Favourite party setup?Early game I think it was Sorey/Mikleo and Alisha/Lailah if I had her as a partner. Later game after picking up Rose I ended drifting a bit more to Dezel and ended up favoring Edna as Rose’s partner to exploit enemy weakness I believe. I stilled used Mikleo a fair bit when I need more ranged with the armatus though.So: Sorey/Mikleo & Alisha/Lailah early gameSorey/Dezel & Rose/Edna mid to late game

8.Favourite attachment?I didn’t actually use any attachments or costumes in my first playthrough so I don’t really have any favorites. Maybe second playthrough. xD Although if I had a certain dlc then Sorey would have a certain gosh darn whale on his back the whole time, clipping or silliness be darned.

10. Favourite boss fight?Ooooooo, this is a hard one. Mmmm. Probably the Sergei fight honestly, he beat me several times but I really enjoyed how I had to get creative and really read into his movements and patterns to beat him with just Sorey. And honestly I never really got frustrated with this fight, just more determined to actually beat him and honestly it was a really rewarding fight. Runner ups would probably be the Zaveid fights and also all the different battles against Heldalf at the very end of the game. There were some darn good fights in this game in my opinion.

14. Anything you wish we could have learned more about?Fiiiiiiiine. Honestly I’d loved to have seen more about Heldalf and Michael, either their connection or just them individually. Like they both had important parts in the history of why certain story events happen, but I don’t feel like we got more than just below surface level on either of them, and I feel like there would have been a lot of potential to explore who they were and tie into deeper into the story itself. Maybe that’s just me though.Also Dezel’s relationships with either Lafarga or Zavied. I want it darn it. Give me.

15. The game’s theme is “passion”. What part of the game are you most passionate about?Oh gosh, I don’t even know where to start with this one. I guess one of the biggest things is just the characters. Sorey in generally hit me really close to home as I find him incredibly relatable and through the whole game a lot of his struggles and also victories hit me really hard because of it. They might not be the most well written cast of a game and some of them are stagnate or a bit backtracking in the character development department at times, but none the less, and it’s hard to explain, but for me the cast had some kind of spark that stuck with me through it all and left me really in love with them in the end. Maybe it was skit interaction, or just the idea of the armatization stuff with trusting someone enough to be able to trust them with a true name and then pair up like that, and maybe a lot of it is just my interpretations of some things but I don’t care. And I love them. I don’t know if that made any sense honestly but hey that’s my answer.

16. Free prompt: just talk about your personal ties to the game, go goI could write a novel. I really could. But I’ll try not to. I mean I think I touched on a lot of the game elements that I really love already so I’ll go with something a little different.So I got my start in Tales with the Symphonia anime with a certain friend, :P  terrible idea or not that’s how I started and I don’t regret it in the slightest. I got hooked and ended up picking up both Symphonia and Zestiria for cheap in a steam sale at same friend’s suggestion, and to start I tried playing Symphonia. And I’ll admit I got burn out and a bit bored after a while for various reasons so I which I won’t discuss here because it’s not relevant to where I’m going with this and I kinda stopped playing. During this burnout was about the time the Zestiria anime was airing and I was seeing various harmless gif sets and images I had spoilers blocked across my dash and it got me kind of curious, so I said heck with it and started up Zestiria not entirely sure what to expect but hopeful that it wouldn’t be a drag like Symphonia had become.And let me tell you I fell in love immediately and just burned through it. I was dumping countless hours in on my weekends after not playing during weeks due to classes. I can’t count the number of nights I stayed up till like 2 or 4 in the morning just to get up the following more and dive in again. Again I can’t explain exactly what it was but something between me and the game just clicked and I poured my heart into it, just loving every minute. Even the frustrating boss fights weren’t enough to make me stop for longer than a couple hours at most to regain my head or make my hands stop shaking.I cried several times in this darn game Dezel had me going for at least a couple hours and then kinda hollow at times for days after I’ll be honest and have spent countless hours analyzing and headcanoning since. I haven’t really wrote much in the way of fic yet but that because I’m waiting to understand how Berseria plays into everything. But I guess what makes it stand out is that at the time about a year or so ago I think actually is that I don’t think I’d been so into a game with that much vigor in quite a while. I’d played a few other things off and on of course, but with school and other things eating up my time I just hadn’t let myself really get invested into much, nor found much that allowed me to. After beating the main game I walked away with feeling I hadn’t felt in quite a while and honestly it felt amazing.I’ve found the feeling again more recently with a few other games I’ve played, Abyss being one of them, but as silly as it sounds in some ways I like to think Zestiria was kinda a reminder to me that even with getting busy and having a dozen things to do for various things that sometimes its fun to just step back from the classes, creative writing, whatever and just let myself have a good time with someone else’s story and just enjoy myself. And honestly I think I’ve played more games and read more books since because of it.I ended up writing a short novel anyways but hey, it is what it is. If you’ve read all this then applause for you and I’m just gonna end this with saying no matter what anyone else thinks of the game whether it be good or bad I’ll always love it for what it is and what it brought me, and I’m grateful for all that is.

[carnelianwings]

Lailah for the character ask?

(For this ask meme! Already answered: Mikleo, Magilou, Judas, Jude, Estelle, Eleanor, Hubert, Rutee, Lenneth Valkyrie, MCU!Wanda, Laphicet)

How I feel about this character: Punny fire mom who tries her best despite her past failure, really earnest and gentle and kind and encouraging, definitely has the second most awesome armatus (sorry Lailah, but Mikleo wins for most awesome armatus) and also the first Shipper on Deck for Sorey and Mikleo.  Personally, I think she’s got a lot of depth to her underneath her seemingly whimsical exterior, as she understood her shortcomings as Prime Lord with Michael, and recognized that no matter what she tried and did, she could never be the confidante and friend Michael needed during his tenure as Shepherd.  Yet, within a few days of meeting Sorey and Mikleo, she realized Mikleo could serve as such for Sorey, in addition to being Sorey’s water sub lord.  Oh, and she has amazing fashion sense, I love that dress of hers; it’s hands-down my favorite Tales outfit design.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Zaveid, kind of, if he ever puts on a shirt

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Can I just nominate the entire Zestiria party?  XD  I mean, really, the entire group is one massive family, made of the boyfriends (Sorey and Mikleo), the girlfriends (Rose and Alisha), their constantly put-upon older sister (Edna), the moody brooding cousin (Dezel), and their punny fire mom and awkward joke dad friend (Zaveid).

My unpopular opinion about this character: I actually like Lailah a lot, I don’t find her annoying or bland at all.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish we got to see a little more of her journey with Michael.  I wanted to know - was it just her and him traveling all the time?  Did he also have water/earth/wind sub lords?  What was Lailah like with him as his Prime Lord?  Did she push him too hard on the Shepherd’s duties and made him overly focused on purifying hellions and malevolence?  Basically, how different was she as a Prime Lord with Michael compared to what she was like with Sorey?

[guardianoftime]

--Credits--

Lyrics: Kirvee (shoutout and big thanks to @talesofsymphoniac for help with writing for rhythm and flow and being my biggest supporter through the whole process, as well as minoath for checking my lyrics for meaning and accuracy to the best of our abilities) Vocals: Nickolas Forsten Mixing: Michael Fewkes Song: “Calling” originally done by fhana for Tales of Zestiria the X ED1

Download the uncompressed version here!

(Lyrics are beneath the cut and wall of text below)

This is something I’ve been sitting on for longer than I really wanted to be, because I was looking for someone to sing it.

I’d been wanting to try my hand at lyric adaptation for a while and Calling was the 2nd song I ever attempted to do that with. It’s also, of the songs I’ve adapted so far, the one I’m most proud of for how the lyrics came out. I am so supremely proud of these lyrics and that’s why I’m really excited to finally be able to show it to more than a select few people! So please enjoy it!

A bit of background:

I approached this the same way I usually approach a translation, except in this case the goal was to make a translation fit into singable English rather than just be a straight translation. For this song, in addition to my own translations in some spots, I primarily followed @minoath‘s translation and she helped me through the process to make sure I was getting the proper meanings across even while rewording or rearranging some parts.

While the first season of Zesty’s anime was airing, Mino made a post that talked about Calling and Anemone no Hana being answers to one another lyrically and from Sorey and Mikleo’s perspective respectively. While adapting the lyrics, this is the same angle I decided to take with Calling and it’s why I was specifically seeking a male singer for it.

The lyrics were already more-or-less clearly Sorey’s perspective, but while adapting I reworked and added some parts as needed to make lines fit or flow better while keeping it in that perspective. For that reason, you can think of these lyrics as being Sorey at the end of the game, either addressing Mikleo directly or thinking about Mikleo and everyone else as he enters his sleep with Maotelus.

The biggest of those changes happened in the Outro where I changed the original lyrics’ reference to God and made it about Maomao instead. It may not follow the translation quite as well, yeah, but it flows so much better and there was no nice and neat way to accurately adapt that part of the song.

I’ve talked enough now, so please enjoy this English cover of a wonderful song!

--Lyrics--

Verse 1: On this journey of no return When I close my eyes midway through it now I want to sleep in this brief time of peace While holding on to our wishes some way somehow

Bridge 1: The world we dreamed of so long together Is illuminated now in light With the overflowing passion we share Look at what our hope conceived

Chorus: For our tomorrow's sake let's rest our wings for now So we can smile and laugh here in this moment together Don't you think when this long journey's at its end We'll be able to grasp fragments of our calling with certainty Let's just sleep right here for now and paint our dreams, don't you waver

Verse 2: If we bridge the gap between them Will the whole world smile bright and not condemn We don't yet know if it'll be alright But that's something we can keep believing, right?

Bridge 2: Sometimes our world is full of miracles That appear beyond our wildest dreams One day soon that dazzling beautiful light Will rain down upon us too

Chorus 2: Someday I'm certain we’ll Fulfill this purest oath made with the land When everything is healed it will be okay For the sake of gaining that tomorrow now We have shed our blood and sweat and tears We have walked through countless frays You can't see it yet but I won't be led astray

Bridge 3: I believe our calling now wasn't fate or destiny It's a dream we're reaching for working endlessly Our hands carve it with pain together

Outro: For our tomorrow's sake let's rest our wings for now So we can smile and laugh here in this moment together To restore his blessing to the whole world now Please live on, nurture, and grow your soul as you live on day to day And then let's just sleep right here again tonight and remember

Let's go there together

Want to use these lyrics to sing your own version? You’re more than welcome to as long as it’s not for profit! If you do, please send me a link! I’d love to check it out!