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jcmorrigan · 4 years ago

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001 - Tales of Zestiria?

Favorite character: It's a tough call between Maltran and Symonne, and Lunarre is trailing right behind both. I tend to call them the "Heldalf Squad," but make no mistake, Heldalf himself isn't part of it. I just like his swagalicious minions. The dry and sarcastic political manipulator, the sadistic and wordy theater nerd, and the flamboyant cannibal who hates everything. Yes. LOVE. But I have to give a shout to my boy Dezel on the hero side! Angsty/stoic characters are very hit-or-miss with me, but Dezel is the flavor I love - obvious soft spots and quirks, and slowly he builds from being antisocial to showing how big his heart is. When he stops the woman from leaping off the Guinevere tower...that's one of my favorite scenes in the entire game, because you can see when the switch flips, when he realizes that he CANNOT stay aloof any longer when there's a stranger's life on the line. He's still a grump about it but a compassionate grump.

Least Favorite character: Heldalf. His backstory is really clever, and I like the curse on him. But he himself just feels like Ganondorf but more boring. I kinda hate that he's so vanilla when his three lieutenants are in my arsenal of pet villains from the vastness of fiction. Also shout-out to Chancellor BART in the opening Ladylake act, because I distinctly remember liveblogging this to a friend, and I played Zestiria *after* Berseria (I'd loved Berseria and that's why I eventually sought out Zestiria) so here I am just comparing up the corrupt church in Ladylake to the Abbey's suave rogues gallery like "Yeah no BART has nothing on Lady Teresa Linares." Thankfully BART was never seen again.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): DezeRose, SorMik, Symonne x Coco Atarashi (The World Ends With You), Alisha Diphda x Sergei Strelka, and...I swear you have to bear with me here...Zaveid x Anna (Frozen). I also kinda wanna note a couple ships I'm on the fence about for my other favies - those being Maltran x Ebony Maw (Marvel Cinematic Universe or Marvel Ultimate Alliance) and Lunarre x Arkham (Devil May Cry).

Character I find most attractive: Dezel. It is a scientific fact that guys with pointy teeth are just hotter.

Character I would marry: Maybe Dezel, maybe Sergei. I wouldn't want to take them from those I see as their wifeys, but at the same time, they are husband goals, both of them.

Character I would be best friends with: Catch me clinging to Maltran's train and she drags me along annoyedly as I yell "PLEEEEAAASE LET ME HANG OUT WITH YOU GUYS" and Lunarre is losing it laughing while Symonne rolls her eyes

a random thought: So I toyed around with basically every accessory I picked up, and I decided to put the sideburns on Rose because fuck gender roles. Well then I just got used to seeing her with facial hair in every cutscene where her 3D model was used, and now I headcanon that she does get it. Maybe nonclassical CAH intersex? Like, I don't necessarily see her as trans (but I support everyone who hc's her as such) but moreso "a cis woman, but I grow this stupid damn facial hair like a dude and I don't get why." And this is why you shouldn't let me play with customizable accessories on RPG characters because I can and will abuse my privilege to headcanon.

An unpopular opinion: That this is actually a very good game. Listen, I think I get it - the initial marketing promised something far different. And that's disappointing. But coming back to it several years after its release, after the release of its PREQUEL, when I never had that hype building up...it actually exceeded my expectations. I held off from it for a while because I thought Eizen's fate would make me too sad, but that didn't end up the case at all. I actually had just come off playing a more recently-released triple-A game that was hyped up for years, and I completed it to my satisfaction in 20 hours. $80 for 20 hours. Zestiria gave me my money's worth in comparison; it took me about 60, and I loved just how MUCH story it had to offer me. I honestly like Rose better than Alisha anyway (Rose was one of the biggest aspects that interested me about playing it in the first place). I've also seen complaints that the characters weren't well-developed enough? Which I just kinda take to mean "They didn't angst enough." Listen. There are PLENTY of games out there if you want angst and sad stories. I don't really like sad stories in my games. I like adventures where the party is a goofy foundfam that jokes around with each other and helps each other work through shitty situations, and that's EXACTLY what I got. (And Berseria really worked on me too because it kinda started at the bottom of the angst barrel, then worked its way up through "The edgy and tortured protag has gained a party of idiots and oh noooooo she's learning friendship and happiness.") Dezel's death is one of the few game deaths that just made me SATISFIED to watch instead of depressed because of the closure he got and the themes tied into his final moments and sacrifice. I loved going on this adventure, I loved the idiots who I went on it with, and I loved seeing what Glenwood had to offer me in world design the further I explored.

my canon OTP: There's not much for canon romance in this game, come to think of it. Just subtext and some flirting. So I'm blanking on if there actually were any canon couples at all.

Non-canon OTP: DezeRose! Which maybe can be considered almost-canon based on the amount of subtext, but still. It's adorable. (And it's the exact same dynamic as EiRoku except M/F and a thousand years later. I need these four to double date...the dual-wielding goofs with their edgy, grumpy Reapers...)

most badass character: Rose! Not only able to wield the Shepherd's Armatization powers, but also to be a dang good assassin on her own, able to hold her own against Heldalf before she even had her eyes opened to seraphim! Though a shout-out goes to Edna because her armatization was my favorite to play with. There's something just satisfying about bashing the enemy in front of you with a pair of GIANT FISTS

pairing I am not a fan of: RoseAli. To be honest, it was at one point something I kinda enjoyed as a third-tier ship for Rose (Dezel first, then Lailah in second). But then...Alisha's Story. I didn't actually purchase it, thank goodness, just watched it on YouTube, and it was the most grating addition that anyone could've made to this game. First of all, I can sum up the issues with Alisha's Story by reminding everyone that it canonized a secret entrance to Camlann that was much easier to get to and wasn't protected by Muse's sacrifice. But the real thing that hurt to watch was how far down they had to knock Rose and Alisha's friendship to get them to rebuild from scratch. Rose claiming she was never Alisha's friend because she's grieving Sorey? The two of them getting into a PHYSICAL FISTFIGHT over it? Nope nope nope. That's not my Rose. Even less my Rose is that whole scene where she...you know...pounces on Alisha to dress her in the silly noblewoman's dress, and it's framed like...let's just say it's really uncomfortable to watch if you don't know the punchline is just a silly outfit. Even though Alisha's Story isn't canon in my head, it still really killed any buzz I had for RoseAli. I will also say I'm not a big fan of Eizavie - first of all, EiRoku or bust in this house, and second, I have a little bit of a hard time seeing Zaveid as mlm due to how much he goes on and on about The Ladies(TM). (Though I could see Eizen as having a tiny crush on him, though. Just like "Oh no he's hot but he's connected to Aifread's disappearance help")

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): Mostly just in Alisha's Story. I was mad about the aforementioned Rose stuff, but also...like...they undid Lunarre's original cathartic death, they did so to team him back up with Symonne and then do a whole fakeout that they had Maltran with them too, but Maltran is just an illusion and immediately after this, Lunarre and Symonne just decide "Yeah, we're not gonna work together anymore, have a nice life." Why does Maltran need to stay dead if LUNARRE somehow survived EXPLODING? And just...look to next question for more clarification:

favourite friendship: I just want to imagine that Maltran, Lunarre, and Symonne were weird evil friends. The kind who'd take artistic selfies and caption them "Murder and mayhem with my besties!". Maybe they even had a sibling dynamic. They were all pretty dang jaded, so I like to think they sat around sometimes talking about the things in this world that did them wrong. The reasons they were drawn to Heldalf. Heldalf himself wouldn't have cared, he would've kicked them around like disposable tools, but the three of them were too entrenched in his dogma to see it. Maybe if they met up again after he was off the board...then they'd sing a different tune. Realize they're all three better than this, and now they're gonna do things THEIR way, because remember when they made a three-point attack on Glenwood and Sorey was barely able to keep up with them wrecking Lastonbell AND Pendrago AND Glaivend? Remember when Lunarre and Symonne had each other's backs the night Dezel died? Now they can do what they want on their terms! And I just - I have many MANY feelings about these three.

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: Okay silly self-insert time but the thing is, Archibald Snatcher (The Boxtrolls) and Roman Torchwick (RWBY) are my two favorite parental f/o's (and also my OTP to end all OTPs), and I have this thing about how they'd be PERFECT crime dads to Symonne in particular because she's like a little, more theatrical Neopolitan. So there's a universe in my head where Symonne is basically already my little sister, and I look out for her - well, okay, she's a seraph with powerful Artes and I am a powerless mortal so really she looks out for me because "I suppose SOMEONE has to make sure you don't die" and I am grateful to her for it.

#tales of zestiria

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codeadleaves · 7 years ago

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Lazy day

Warning: None Relationship:A tiny amount of soymilk if you squint Characters: Rose, Dezel, Edna, Lailah, Sorey, Mikleo, Ayn Talfryn, Ayn Felice Additional Tags: friendship, humor Summary: “Today was a lazy day, their little group taking a well-deserved break after their trek in the Gaferis ruins and a rather short night spent fighting a big hellionized cat.”

Read on AO3 or under the cut.

A big thanks to @amarietie for betareading <3

“Here you go Boss,” said Talfryn, handing Rose a bag full of mabo curry buns.

The sun was shining high on Pendrago today. The market street was filled with people shopping and chatting, the Sparrowfeathers booth attracting a huge part of it. It was no wonder; the Sparrowfeathers were well known across the continent for their guaranteed quality, and the delicious smell coming from their booth right now would make anyone salivate. Mabo curry buns were a real success, Rose’s greatest decision if you’d asked her.

She looked down at the bag, warm against her chest, the buns still steaming.

“Don’t forget to share with the Shepherd!”

Rose shot a look toward the twins.

“As if I could eat everything by myself!”

“You would.”

“You did,” added Felice.

“Then you’d ask what’s for dessert.”

“And complain about your tummy hurting afterward.”

Rose wanted to object. It had happened once, a long time ago, and she had learned her limits. Why did they have to bring it back in front of her new travel companion like she was some kind of incurable glutton?

Felice shook her head, and Talfryn and Dezel nodded in confirmation.

Wait.

“Why are you nodding!?” she shouted at the seraph.

Dezel tensed and looked away, while the twins laughed at Rose’s indignation, taking the shout as their cue to retreat.

“See you later Boss!”

And off they went. Rose pouted. Maybe she should comfort herself with one bun.

“You shouldn’t eat between meals,” Dezel said.

Rose pouted harder, tempted to shove the whole thing and glare at the seraph. She opted to walk back to the inn instead. Lunch time was close anyway.

Today was a lazy day, their little group taking a well-deserved break after their trek in the Gaferis ruins and a rather short night spent fighting a big hellionized cat. Sorey and Mikleo were still sleeping when she had left her own room a couple of hours ago.

Leaving the market street behind her, Rose looked around the plaza. Citizens were still fixing the damages a year of rain had caused, soldiers patrolling and helping the best they could (maybe they could give Sergei a little visit later - the captain would love to know the howling season was over). The capital still had a lot to worry about but the mood was slowly improving, the sun seemingly burning brighter compared to yesterday, all thanks to Morgrim taking residence in the Shrine.

How did that change feel to normal people, she wondered. They could sense the difference, she had heard a few talk about it, but how did it feel to them? They couldn’t see malevolence, couldn’t feel it the way she and her comrades could. It was an odd thing to get used to, that constant weight on her chest. Then again, she had had to get used to lot of weird things lately, like creepy ghost people talking in her head. Yeah, that was definitely weirder than any uncomfortable sensation in her chest, and harder to adjust to, she thought, eyes drifting toward the seraph next to her.

Though maybe the weirdest thing was Dezel. Always following her, always looking over her. Telling her what she was supposed to do or not, like he was some kind of mother hen. It was weird, a bit annoying sometimes, but oddly, she could never think it was completely out of place.

“What?” he grunted when she kept staring.

Her lips stretched in wicked smile.

“You know, maybe we should hold hands or something if you’re that worried I’ll wander off.”

The effect was immediate.

“How stupid!” Dezel sputtered, storming ahead.

What a weird grumpy guy, Rose laughed to herself, pushing the inn’s door open.

The main room was relatively calm. A man drinking at the bar, a couple and their children waiting at the front desk. One bored earth Seraph chilling on a armchair.

“Where are the others?” Rose asked, voice lower than usual.

Edna made a dismissive gesture with her hand, the other holding her closed umbrella on her lap, eyes locked on the family.

“Lailah is waiting in your room and the boys haven’t left theirs yet.”

Rose raised an eyebrow.

“Are they still asleep?”

Edna shrugged. “Who knows what two teenage boys can do in locked bedroom.”

“Nerd-out,” respond Rose flatly.

“That’s what they are best at,” said Edna, smirking ever so slightly.

Edna finally turned her attention to Rose, gaze drifting to the bag.

“What are you doing here anyway?” asked Rose.

“Avoiding Lailah.”

“Why? Wait, didn’t you say something about her waiting in the room?”

The seraph sighed.

“I could tell you, but I don’t like giving information for free,” she said, feigning disinterest.

Rose stared. That was Edna’s way to politely ask for a bun, she supposed. It was mildly tempting to walk away without giving her what she wanted - messing with Enda was kind of fun when her umbrella wasn’t involved - but then again, learning what Lailah was up to might be a good thing to learn for her immediate future.

“Fair enough,” said Rose putting a bun in Edna’s hand.

The seraph stood, walking toward the front door.

“It’s laundry day,” she informed her.

“What’s wrong with that?” asked Rose, confused.

The door closed in her face. Maybe two buns would have loosened her tongue better, Rose thought. She turned to the stairs, about to walk out of the room when she noticed one of the children looking at her from behind his mother’s skirts. The little boy looked at the door, then back at her. Right, that child had just seen her talking to herself, then a bun had flown to the door, the door that had seemingly opened by itself. She would have been scared too. In fact she probably would have screamed and punched at anyone coming near. She had. Poor Sorey… Though it was his own fault for not understanding how creepy it had been.

The boy held on his mother’s clothes tighter. Rose laughed awkwardly before fleeing to the stairs. She certainly wouldn’t be the one to explain that kid there were invisible people walking around. She had her own problems to deal with anyway, like waking nerds and checking on Lailah. Maybe she was waiting for someone to help with the laundry. That would be reason enough to make lady Edna hide, she guessed, opening her room’s door.

Lailah was sitting on the bed, a dozen paper flowers lying next to her. Lailah jumped to her feet the very moment Rose entered the room.

“Clothes off!” she ordered with a smile, taking a hold on Rose’s jacket.

“What!?”

Rose barely had the time to put the bun bag on the desk before her jacket and bolero were taken in one motion and thrown into the laundry basket on the floor, Lailah’s hands already on the next piece of clothing.

“Wait, wait! You can’t just take all my clothes like that!” shouted Rose, yanking back her shirt.

Lailah stepped back, smile dropping, hands clasped tight against her chest, lip wobbling slightly. Rose gulped. That wasn’t fair.

“I just wanted to wash everyone’s clothes, why does nobody seem to appreciate my efforts?”

No wonder Edna fled, thought Rose, It was either that or let Lailah strip you to your underwear (dear lords, she hoped Lailah wouldn’t try to take anything more!). Or worse, you could try to defend yourself and deal with the crushing guilt Lailah’s sad face instilled in you.

“Even Mikleo yelled at me to stop,” she whined.

Of course he would. Rose could clearly picture his reaction, all flushed, while Sorey would laugh awkwardly and stay out of Lailah’s reach.

“It’s such a nice day, who knows when we’ll have a chance to wash everything again.” Lailah sobbed in her hand.

She clearly was exaggerating, Rose knew that, and she wouldn’t fall for it. Come on she was stronger than that!

Or not.

“At least let me put on my sleeping shirt?” she asked, resigned.

Lailah snapped her head back to her, positively beaming. Yep, all an act. Rose wondered how long it’d taken the boys to give in.

One minute later Rose finished buttoning her sleeping shirt, her pants and bra resting with the rest of the laundry. Lailah hauled the full basket in her arms, determined to accomplish her task. She paused, looking at the desk, and seized the bag still full of mabo curry buns.

“No food between meals,” she said in a sing-song voice.

“But!”

“No but.”

Rose sighed in defeat. Again.

“Can I give one to the boys? I suppose they didn’t eat any breakfast this morning.”

And they wouldn’t leave their room anytime soon if Lailah had stolen all their clothes too.

Lailah stopped in the doorway, seemingly considering the request, and then held out a bun.

“Just one then!”

And then she was off, humming a happy tune to herself. Rose sure hoped the kid from earlier wouldn’t see the flying basket moving across the inn. She didn’t linger on the thought (it certainly would be better to go with Lailah, if only she wasn’t half-naked).

She knocked at the boys’ door, not bothering to wait for an answer. Inside, the window was open and a chair situated next to it, on which Sorey was sitting. Mikleo stood in front of him, scissors in hand. The shepherd turned to her, greeting her with a smile.

“Morning Rose!”

“Morning you two!” she answered, glad to see they had managed to keep their pajamas too. Or at least she supposed they had, Sorey’s body currently being covered by a sheet.

Mikleo didn’t spare her a glance, too focused on his task. He barely responded to the greeting, turning Sorey’s head back to him before resuming his cutting.

Rose tugged at a strand of her own hair. She hadn’t cut it in a while, she should ask Eguille for a hair cut next time she saw him.

“Did Lailah go crazy on you too?” asked Sorey with a laugh.

“She sure did! Only Edna and Dezel managed to escape her.” Rose said, sitting on the nearest bed, next to the Celestial Record (Mikleo probably had forbidden Sorey to read it while he cut his hair).

“Where are they?”

“Edna went out a few minutes ago. And Dezel is-” she looked behind her, not seeing anyone. “-somewhere near I’m guessing.”

Sorey turned to the window, probably trying to spot one of the wandering seraphim. A pale hand took hold of his chin, firmly repositioning his head. Cutting Sorey’s hair didn’t look like an easy task.

“How did it go with the Sparrowfeathers?”

Rose distantly wondered if Sorey would ever refer to them as the Scattered Bones.

“Wonderful! Mabo curry buns are a huge hit in Pendrago too, and I brought a full bag with me!”

“Really!?” Sorey turned to her, eyes sparkling.

Mikleo audibly clicked his tongue. Sorey went still.

“Next time I’ll cut everything,” the seraph warned, face scolding.

“Please forgive me,” begged the shepherd.

Rose pressed her lips tight, trying not to laugh. Maybe it would be wiser to not talk until they were done.

Mikleo carded a hand in Sorey’s hair, concentration never leaving his face. One snip. Two snips. Bending Sorey’s head a little. Another snip. Mikleo leaned back, arm crossed against his chest, a hand to his chin. Sorey held his breath.

Finally, Mikleo nodded to himself, satisfied.

“Alright, you’re free.” he said, removing the sheet from Sorey.

Sorey sighed in relief and stood, stretching for a few second before relaxing. Rose chose that moment to hand him the lukewarm bun.

“Here’s for your hard work!”

Sorey smiled bright, extending a hand toward the bun… only for it to be snatched by Mikleo who quickly took a bite, not giving Sorey the time to object.

“Thank you Rose,” said the seraph, pointedly ignoring Sorey’s little shout.

Sorey pouted. Hard. The shepherd was so cute it was ridiculous.

“Don’t worry,” reassured Rose “There’s more with Lailah.”

If she hadn’t eat them all. Somehow that wouldn’t surprise her.

“Right! The laundry!” Sorey suddenly exclaimed.

He rushed out, certainly intending to go help Lailah, and Rose wondered if he had somehow forgotten he wasn’t wearing any pants. He didn’t even notice Mikleo carefully tearing the bun in two. The seraph looked at the doorway a bit surprised, then shrugged, swallowing the last bite of his half and licking his thumb.

It was just the two of them now, alone in a room, only wearing their pajamas. Rose smirked, placing herself in front of the seraph, barely a few inches away. Mikleo took a step back.

“I’ll hold unto this,” Rose said, taking the half-bun from his hand.

She then sat on the chair, removing her hair beads and beamed at him.

“My turn!”

The seraph sighed, grabbing the sheet Sorey was previously wearing and adjusting it around her. He had barely taken the scissors in hand when Dezel’s presence fell heavy on the room; poor Mikleo tensed. Oh, Rose could already hear the lecture going on Dezel’s head. A teenage girl only wearing a sleeping shirt in the boys room, letting one of these boys touch her hair? How scandalous!

Pfff, like there was anything to fear from Mikleo on that matter.

Rose bit into the half-bun.

“Hey!” Mikleo protested.

Rose smiled. Lazy days were the best.

#Tales of Zestiria #toz #sormik #not really worth tagging but well #fic #codeadleaf writes

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randomactuallywrites-57 · 7 years ago

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Candid Complex (Chapter Five)

Title: Candid Complex Author: randomwriter57 Rating: G+ Pairing/s: sormik Summary: It’s been a while since Sorey has awoken feeling this excited.

AO3 Link

It's been a while since Sorey has awoken feeling this excited.

And it's no wonder, really. Anyone would be excited to spend a weekend exploring ruins with their (pretend) boyfriend, right?

Sure, they aren't leaving until tomorrow. Today is only for getting everything they need together. But even the prospect of planning, of moving toward an objective, makes it feel tangible, and that's exciting.

Perhaps it's his excitement which wakes him an hour before his alarm. All he knows is that one minute he's drifting in the world of dreams, and the next his brain is whirring with possibilities. He dreams of ancient stone murals and the musky scent that comes with being underground, and awakens to thoughts of ancient eras and crafting techniques and theories he can't wait to share.

When it becomes clear that he's not getting any more sleep before his alarm rings, Sorey turns it off and gets up. He barely notices time passing as he showers and changes clothes, eats breakfast without much regard to what he's eating. Instead he focuses on scrawling ideas in his weary notebook, lists of supplies and groceries and travel plans he'll discuss with Mikleo later on.

(Well, except for the grocery list. He ends up picking the food up from the shop himself, during his hours of waiting. After all, they'll only have so much time later in the day to get everything together, including preparing the food.)

Considering how occupied he’s kept himself, it's no wonder he finds himself restless when there is nothing left for him to do but wait. With the tent unearthed and the lists written, he sits down on the sofa with a book, hoping to relax for a while.

His eyes skip over the same passage several times before he gives up.

Standing, he paces around his flat for five minutes, impatience fuelling his muscles. Then he sits down and picks his book up again.

A minute passes before he's back on his feet.

Okay, so maybe being this excited isn't necessarily a good thing.

All he wants is for Mikleo's classes to end so he can come here to help with the planning and preparation. As much fun as it is on his own, generating ideas is always way more interesting with a companion. Especially with Mikleo; his thoughts often contrast with Sorey's, giving them a range of possibilities. Sometimes Mikleo thinks of things which Sorey would never come up with himself. Other times, Sorey manages to change Mikleo’s mind about theories they’ve debated for hours. Thinking of having more discussions like that fills him with even more energy.

He lets out a long, harsh breath. He doesn't want to wait.

(But he will. Mikleo is worth it.)

Someone knocks at the door.

Jumping at the sudden sound, Sorey rushes to the door, not bothering to check the peephole before opening the door to-

"Hey Sorey," says Rose.

He deflates a little. "Oh, hi Rose. What's up?"

Rose raises an eyebrow. "I feel like I should be asking you that. Aren't you happy to see me?" She punches his arm lightly, showing that she's just teasing him.

"Of course I am," Sorey says through a laugh. He can't believe he's being so ridiculous and impatient. Mikleo doesn't even finish his classes for another hour. "I just expected someone else."

"Nerd boy?" Rose pushes past Sorey into the flat, collapsing on his second-hand couch with her bare feet on the coffee table. He doesn’t take much notice of it; this kind of behaviour is normal for Rose, even her lack of footwear.

"Yeah, he's coming over later so we can prep for tomorrow." Sorey closes the front door and takes a seat on the living room floor, across from Rose. "What are you doing here?"

"I was gonna ask you something, but it doesn't matter." Rose pulls out her phone, tapping on it in quick succession. "What time does nerd boy get here?"

"In an hour. And will you stop calling him that?"

Rose doesn't answer, instead tapping at her phone a few more times before tossing it onto the sofa beside her. She then leans forward, lips pulling into a mischievous grin. “I’ll be hanging out here for a while, if you don’t mind. I’m sick of looking at my apartment.”

Sorey blinks at her. He’s used to her spontaneously deciding to hang out with him, but her deciding to stay here even knowing that Mikleo’s coming round is surprising. Not that he minds her staying, of course.

“That’s fine,” he tells her.

“Don’t look so disappointed! You have all weekend to be alone with him. Besides, I want to get to know the guy who finally got you to be interested in romance.”

“You say that like not being interested is a bad thing.”

“You know that’s not what I mean! But you seem way more interested in Mikleo than you have in anyone else before.”

Her use of his real name, combined with the fading of her smile, strikes Sorey, and he realises that Rose is being totally serious.

Looking down at his hands, Sorey thinks of Mikleo - of his slender fingers twined between his, of the weight of his head leaning on Sorey’s - and feels his lips tug into a soft smile. “I guess you’re right.”

“You’re really serious about him, aren’t you?”

That’s the question which weighs on Sorey’s mind. He’s known from the beginning that some part of him finds Mikleo attractive, and his developing crush is no small secret. On Wednesday, it could have been something he could get over easily. He and Mikleo could have gone back to their regular friendship with no awkwardness or pining.

But now, after yesterday, he knows that is no longer the case. Bringing a hand to his lips, he remembers the smooth skin of Mikleo’s cheek underneath them, present only for a moment before he pulled away. Kissing his cheek had been an action done completely on impulse, but he can’t say he doesn’t want to do it again.

When he looks up, Rose’s gaze has not faltered.

“I am,” he admits.

Rose lets out a long breath, her eyes finally falling to her phone, abandoned at her side. “I thought so.”

Neither of them speak for a few minutes, waiting for the heavy atmosphere to dissolve, or maybe just too caught up in their own thoughts to have a conversation. In the end, though, Rose is the one to break the tension, as usual.

“You’ve still got like an hour, right?” she says, hopping off the couch. “Let’s play Mario Kart.”

Sorey smiles. “Yeah, sure.”

And that’s what they do.

When playing Mario Kart, hours pass with the same suddenness as getting hit by a blue shell does. Even if you hear the whirring behind you, it’s always a shock when your kart suddenly gets upturned, to the soundtrack of sadistic snickering.

This means that when, on their final lap of the Lightning Cup, someone knocks at the door, it’s no surprise that Sorey’s controlled character goes flying off the edge, whilst Rose’s soars through the finish line.

“I win again!” Standing, Rose stretches with her arms over her head. “I’ll grab the door while you catch up.”

Before Sorey can protest, she’s gone, and all he can do is direct his kart towards the finish, following the onslaught of AIs who overtook him in his pause.

Through the hall, he hears the muffled sound of Rose talking, followed by the quieter tone of Mikleo’s voice. Sorey puts his controller aside and makes his way to the front door.

“Nuh-uh, you have to say the password if you want in,” Rose says, leaning so her arms bar Mikleo from entry.

Seeing the mixture of exasperation and agitation forming on Mikleo’s face, Sorey says, “Stop teasing him, Rose. You don’t even live here.”

Rose sticks her tongue out at him, but retreats to the living room anyway, allowing Mikleo to come into the flat rather than standing out on the doorstep.

“Sorry about her,” Sorey says, smiling sheepishly. “She insisted on hanging out here for a while.”

“It’s fine,” Mikleo says, his smile as warm and gentle as ever. He slips off his shoes and jacket, the latter of which Sorey takes and hangs on the coat rack by the door.

“Are you excited for tomorrow?” Sorey asks as they walk through to the living area.

“Of course,” Mikleo says. “We’ll be exploring ruins used by Hyland royalty. If that’s not something to be excited about, I don’t know what is.”

“I don’t know how either of you can get so excited over some musty old rocks,” Rose says, sitting cross-legged on the couch once again. She doesn’t look over to them as she navigates the Mario Kart menu to the ‘online mode’ screen.

“They’re not just musty old rocks,” Mikleo says, crossing his arms over his chest. “Centuries’ worth of history are recorded within them.”

Rose shoots Sorey a deadpan look. “Congrats, you finally found someone as nerdy as you are.”

Sorey laughs a little, though not at Mikleo’s expense.

“Here, let me show you the food I got,” Sorey says, leading Mikleo into the kitchen and out of that conversation.

His kitchen is a little small for two people, though it’s much more spacious than most one-bedroom flat kitchens. Still, he doesn’t mind the closeness of Mikleo to him as he goes through his bags of groceries. It seems that Mikleo doesn’t mind either; he leans towards Sorey more often than not. Each brush of their arms injects Sorey’s heart with a burst of warmth.

(He doesn’t mind Rose being here, sure. But the image in his mind of curling up with Mikleo on the too-small sofa, sides pressed against each other, their arms around each other’s waists, legs tangled together, a mass of warmth and veins and beating hearts-

It’s too much to be thinking about right now.)

Once he finishes going over all the food he bought, he and Mikleo start preparing the food. Most of it is pre-cooked, and so doesn’t require much thought; tiny sausage rolls and fancy hors d’oeuvre he found on sale, jerky and pre-made kebabs, and a whole mountain of sweets of varying types. All they have to prepare are the sushi and rice balls, and maybe a couple of other snacks, if they feel like it. Whilst Sorey keeps an eye on the rice cooker, Mikleo prepares the sushi fillings and lays out the nori. Sorey can’t help but watch Mikleo’s deft hands as they wrap around the knife, chopping cucumber into long strips. Those hands, which Sorey knows to be soft and gentle, fingers which leave the lightest touch.

(They’d look good with nail varnish. Maybe a light blue, to match the tips of his hair. Oh, and don’t get Sorey started on Mikleo’s hair-)

Mikleo looks up from his work, raising an eyebrow. “What are you staring at?”

“Your hands,” Sorey answers automatically.

He rolls his violet eyes, and Sorey even finds that attractive, somehow. “I got that much. What’s so interesting about them?”

“They’re nice. Your hands.”

Taken aback, Mikleo blinks before looking down at his hands. He lays the knife down on the chopping board, fiddling with his fingers. “They’re just hands.”

Sorey reaches over and lifts one of Mikleo’s hands into both of his own. “You might think that, but they’re really nice. See, look.” He turns Mikleo’s hand so his palm faces up, then presses the tips of his fingers. “They’re so soft.”

“Well, it’s not like I do heavy-duty work that often.”

Humming, Sorey presses his palm against Mikleo’s measuring the size of their hands. Even though Sorey’s palm is larger, his fingers are dwarfed by the slender ones of Mikleo, the tips peeking over Sorey’s with no trouble.

“Your fingers are so long.”

“I’ve been told I have pianists’ fingers,” Mikleo says.

“I can see you playing piano. You have the right vibe for it.” He pulls his palm away, only to go back to examining Mikleo’s hands.

“Vibe?”

“Yeah, you know, all sophisticated and elegant.” He lets his fingers trail the length of Mikleo’s.

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“But you are.”

Mikleo opens his mouth to speak, but instead closes it abruptly, lips pressed tight together. His eyes are wide, focused on Sorey’s hand on his own.

For a moment, Sorey looks at him in confusion, before lightly running the tip of his finger over Mikleo’s palm. Mikleo makes a muffled sound.

So what else is Sorey supposed to do?

He does it again.

This time, Mikleo’s snort of laughter comes out more clearly, too strong to be stifled. Sorey grins.

“You never told me you’re ticklish, Mikleo.”

“That’s because I’m not!” says Mikleo, turning his face away stubbornly.

Sorey does it again.

Mikleo’s hand tenses in his, his face contorted in repressed laughter.

“I beg to differ.”

Sorey lets go of Mikleo’s hand, only to aim for his stomach. With unexpected reflexes, Mikleo blocks the attack. That doesn’t stop Sorey, though - he tries again, and again, until all-out tickle warfare ensues in the kitchen. Their laughter soars through the air, and soon Sorey finds himself too distracted by the sound of Mikleo - his laughter which bursts in balloons of song - and then Mikleo has him cornered, has the upper hand, is tickling him without mercy. Sorey doesn’t try to block Mikleo’s attacks anymore, instead gripping the counter to keep himself from falling, even though he’s already falling so hard, the constant velocity dragging him to a place he can’t imagine leaving. His chest aches, but he thinks it might be from something more than the quickness of his breaths and the huffs of his laughter.

Suddenly, a voice pierces their bubble of joy.

“Hey, Sorey, where did you- Oh, am I interrupting something?”

The boys spring apart, cheeks flushed from laughter and embarrassment. In their moment of happiness, they’d forgotten the presence of Rose in the apartment.

“It’s nothing, what is it you need?” Sorey asks, trying not to let his voice sound too breathless, no matter how Mikleo makes him feel.

“I just wanted to know where you left your laptop,” Rose says, smiling wryly. “I need to check something.”

“Your flat is literally next door.”

She shrugs. “I’m too lazy. Is it still in the study?”

The study isn’t much of a study - more of a storage room which Sorey converted to a quasi-study when he moved in here. He’s lucky to have the room at all - most student apartments have only a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living area.

“Yeah, go ahead. Password’s the same as last time.”

“Thanks!” For a moment, she glances over to Mikleo, eyes filled with something Sorey can’t identify, before she leaves the room with the same haste that she entered it.

Weird.

In any case, Sorey doesn’t let himself dwell on it. Instead he leans back against the counter, opening his mouth to say something to Mikleo until the rice cooker chimes from behind him, causing him to jump for the second time.

“I think the rice is ready,” Mikleo points out, now smiling behind his hand. “By the way, where’s your bathroom?”

“Last room down the hall, you can’t miss it.”

“Thanks. I’ll be back in a minute.” With that, Mikleo disappears, leaving Sorey alone with the cooked rice.

‘Might as well start rolling the sushi,’ Sorey thinks, turning his attention to the food on the counter.

Rolling sushi has always been fun, for him, since it doesn’t require too much thought. All he needs to do is mould each sheet into a roll, a perfect encasement of deliciousness. This means that his brain is free to run wild as he does this.

And of course he can’t stop thinking about Mikleo.

He can’t help himself. His laughter was too cute, and the way his face opened up was amazing. The expressions on his face - the wide eyes, later narrowed in mischievousness, combined with a smile bright enough to blind the sun, and yet still more radiant than the moon - they were too beautiful for him not to obsess over.

(This crush is really getting out of hand.)

A few sushi rolls later, Sorey notices that Mikleo still hasn’t returned from the bathroom. Curious, he wipes his hands on a paper towel before making his way down the hall, intent on seeing if he is alright.

What he doesn’t expect is to hear Mikleo’s voice from inside the study.

“A fake relationship can’t last forever.”

Eavesdropping is something he finds distrustful and rude, and hence something he avoids doing at all costs. Still, he can’t help but pause, hearing those words.

“Speak plainly.” Rose sounds annoyed with the conversation, as though Mikleo has been skirting the topic for too long. It’s a tone Sorey knows well, as someone who avoids conflict as much as possible.

“One week is long enough.”

Sorey shrinks back from the door as Rose’s voice grows in volume. “What, so you’re going to dump him at the end of the week? Like he’s some project to you? Don’t you have any idea how much that will hurt him?”

A bitter feeling dances on Sorey’s tongue, slipping to the back of his throat. This time, there is no sweetness to mask the taste.

“I know.” Mikleo’s voice is impossibly calm, almost to a point where his emotions don’t shine through. “But our feelings are not the same.”

He can’t listen to this anymore.

Moving away from the door, Sorey returns to the kitchen. Hearing the rest of the conversation is something he thinks would be unbearable, especially considering what he has heard of it.

Of course this was too good to be real; all the hand-holding, the lack of space between them, and even today. Part of him has known all along that this will end, that none of what they’ve done is important to Mikleo. Now, his lack of reciprocation is becoming all too clear. It’s not like he initiated any of their couple-like behaviour; Sorey was the first to offer a hand, to invite him on a date, to kiss his cheek. What has Mikleo done, except go along with it?

Part of him, a stubborn cockeyed optimist, wants to believe that there’s still a chance for them. But at this rate, he’ll have to accept the opposite as true.

He should have expected this. But it still hurts.

It hurts because he can’t stop caring.

Leaning against the kitchen counter, Sorey brings a hand to his heart, clenching his fist in the fabric of his t-shirt. For the first time, he lets himself have the forbidden thought which has been growing stronger all week.

He loves Mikleo.

#sormik #tales of zestiria #tales of zestiria fanfiction #toz #fanfiction #:)

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somefinelipstickonthatpig · 7 years ago

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Cadaverous Pallor

woops my hand must have slipped. what’s this?? a ghost au?? how original. grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize

Sorey's a charismatic TV show host. He explores places of historical significance and shares their stories with the world, and he loves his job. He's fairly good at it. He's been doing it on his own, even without professional funding, since he was in college.

He just doesn't expect the manor he's planning to film next to be extremely haunted--not by such a cute ghost, at least.

[Read on AO3] [Read Ch. 2]

Chapter 1 - When the Crypt Doors Creak

When hinges creak in doorless chambers, And strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls, Whenever candelights flicker, Where the air is deathly still, That is the time when ghosts are present, Practicing their terror with ghoulish delight.

- “The Haunted Mansion,” Foyer Narration

“Wait, back up, sorry—who did you say you were?”

The bright-eyed brunet laughed, leaning back. His grin split his face a mile-wide as he threw one arm over the back of his chair. He had to his form a handsome charisma that even Rose grudgingly would admit was attractive as he sat there in the middle of a random restaurant in Ladylake. “My name’s Sorey. Sorry, I guess sometimes I forget not everyone watches my show.”

Lucas chuckled. “I don’t watch that much TV anyway.” The waiter shifted his weight as he surveyed the table of three before him: a young woman with her blonde hair pulled tight to the side of her head and another young woman with bright red hair that barely brushed her shoulders sat across from the one who had identified himself as ‘Sorey.’ He placed a hand to his waist. “Are you all on this show? This…’History Hunters’ thing?”

The redhead laughed. “Oh, gosh, no…!” Her nose scrunched up and jerked a thumb in Sorey’s direction. “Are you kidding me? I don’t know shit about history! That’s all this nerd.”

Sorey flushed politely. He raised a hand to scratch the back of his head. “Don’t listen to Rose. It’s not all me. We have guest stars and speakers on the show sometimes, and they know a lot, too. It’s more like a collaboration, I think, than just me talking to the camera.”

The girl named Rose lifted a hand to shield her mouth from Sorey’s view. “It’s pretty much just Sorey talking to the camera.”

The blonde at their table giggled as Sorey’s face turned a deeper red.

“N-no, it’s not! People wouldn’t watch the show if it was just me!” he scrambled to claim. He turned back to his food and stuffed a fry in his mouth.

Rose waved a hand. “Relax. You’re the reason people watch it, ya dummy.” With a sneaky grin, she reached over to Sorey’s plate and snatched one of his fries to stuff in her mouth before he could stop her. She said, “Ain’t that right, Alisha?”

The other young woman smiled. She turned her pale green eyes to Lucas, and for a moment, the waiter was struck by just how mature a set of emeralds could look on so young a face. “Well, the show’s ratings weren’t doing too well until Sorey came along, I must admit. Our last host just didn’t have the same energy that he does.”

The redhead named Rose snickered. “Nobody has the same energy Sorey does.”

“I can’t tell if that’s an insult or a compliment…”

Rose stole another fry before Sorey could smack her hand away. “For you? Everything’s a compliment. Even if it’s an insult.”

Lucas shook his head; a smile was fighting its way onto his face even as he stood there, looking at the table he was supposed to just be checking on. But it was a slow time of day in the lull between the lunch and dinner rushes; what the hell. He could humor these guys for a minute or two more, right? “So what brings your crew into Ladylake, then? Going to do a bit about the Sanctuary?”

“We’ve already done one, actually,” Sorey said with a bright grin. Rose took the opportunity of his turned head to grab another fry again. Alisha hissed to her in reprimand. “I’d be lying, though, if I said I wouldn’t want to do another episode there.”

Rose shook her head, chomping on her stolen food with pride. “Nah. We’re not here for the Sanctuary.” She turned to Lucas and grinned. “Ever heard of the Camlann estate?”

“Oh.” Lucas’ response was short, curt. All three pairs of eyes were on him immediately. He sighed and reached up a hand to scratch at his chin. “Yeah…yeah, I have. I think you’ll find most Ladylake locals have, too, if you ask around.”

“Really?” Sorey’s own green eyes, earthy and less ethereal than Alisha’s own, brightened considerably. “What can you tell us about it? I’m just dying to see it—!”

“—that’s a funny choice of words—“

“—I heard that the guy that restored the place tried to return the mansion to what it would have looked like during its prime, y’know, over two hundred years ago—before it was burned down!” Sorey’s grin didn’t dim as he rattled. “All of that gorgeous Elysian architecture and stonework…!”

Lucas made a soft sound in his throat, something like a scoff and a bit-off laugh. “Yeah, well. Did you also hear that the man who restored the estate died there?”

A chilling quiet swept over the table.

“What.” The word that came from Rose was something between a question and a statement. Lucas decided to count it as both.

“That’s awful,” Alisha murmured, her voice turned soft.

Of the three, Sorey was the one who looked the least surprised. He had a thin set to his mouth and a disquiet in his eyes that spoke of knowing sympathy. “He wouldn’t be the only one. The Camlann estate has seen a lot of death: they say the entire household of the family that lived there perished in the fire that burned it down over two hundred years ago, too.”

Lucas nodded. “Yeah. And that’s just the start of it.” He shifted his weight as he spoke, moving his serving tray from one hip to the other idly. “Word in town is that the place is one of the most haunted around here. So if you’re really planning on goin’ in…well. I’d be careful, if I were you.”

Rose’s spine snapped straight. Her blue eyes lit on the young man across from her, daggers fierce in their depths. “Wait, what? A-are you serious?! Sorey, what the hell—did you know about this?!”

Sorey shook his head. “No! I mean, I knew that people died there, but I didn’t think it would be haunted—“

“—uh, no duh, Mr. History Genius; dead people in giant mansions always equals ghosts! How come everyone seems to know this but you?!” Rose stood up. “Ugh, okay, you know what? Forget this shit. Sorry, Sorey, but we’re not doing the estate anymore.”

“What?” Sorey gaped at her.

Alisha winced.

“You heard me!” Rose pointed a finger at the TV host, and Lucas suddenly received the feeling he had unknowingly triggered something that maybe he should not have. “We’re not. Doing. The estate.”

“But—“

“—That’s it. No. Done. End of discussion. Pick a different historical joint you love so much and we’ll go there, first thing in the morning; I promise. But we’re not stickin’ around for a haunted mansion. Sorry, but no. That’s not our type of show.”

Sorey’s mouth flapped open and shut uselessly. “But—but Camlann—“

“—has a lot of important history to talk about, I’m sure.” Rose nodded to something he hadn’t even said. She gathered her jacket and slipped it around her shoulders. “And if you want to stay and try to film it on your own, be my guest; just know that this driver of yours is leaving with her van and your crew, at like, the ass-crack of dawn, so. Make your choice.”

Alisha sighed. Her hands fell to her lap. “Rose, we need to at least give the estate a chance.”

“Yeah, well. You can give it a chance, but I’m not. I ain’t gettin’ anywhere near that place.” She slipped her purse over her shoulder and pointed a finger at the blonde. “And you can’t make me. I’ll sleep on the couch if I have to, babe, but I’m not going to that mansion. Sorry.”

Exasperation crossed over Alisha’s face. “Rose—“

The redhead quickly turned away. “See ya back at the hotel!” she said and then she was gone, weaving around empty tables and chairs as she made her way out of the restaurant and into the mid-afternoon sun.

Alisha watched her go.

After a moment’s pause and with a frown tight on her face, Alisha bent to grab her purse and jacket. “I should go after her, just to make sure she isn’t actually planning on leaving us.” Her gaze flickered to Sorey briefly as she murmured, “You have one of the company cards, right? Use that to pay for the meal.” She bowed to Lucas. “Excuse me; I’m terribly sorry for my untimely departure.”

Lucas chuckled and waved a hand. “You don’t have to apologize to me. You’re still paying, after all.”

Alisha threw him a small smile before she left.

In the silence afterwards, now alone at the table, Sorey shifted in his seat awkwardly. He picked up a small fry.

Lucas sighed. “Look, sorry about whole the estate-thing. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Sorey blinked and looked to the waiter. “What do you mean?”

Lucas stepped forward to begin clearing the table of the abandoned plates, glasses, and silverware. His gaze flickered to the young man who watched him work. “Well, it’s over, now, right? If that young lady’s calling it off, that probably means you won’t be able to get to Camlann and do your history-talk thing, yeah?”

The young TV host hummed thoughtfully. His green eyes turned away to some unfixed point on the adjacent wall. He picked up another fry. “Eh, maybe,” he said quietly—too quietly for Lucas to feel completely comfortable about it.

The waiter shook his head. “Well, whatever you do, be careful, all right? For real. That place is no joke. People have died there. Watch yourself.”

Sorey turned to Lucas. The grin on his face was a mile-wide once more. “Don’t worry. I work with artifacts and historical ruins for a living. ‘Being careful’ is my middle name!”

Somehow, though he had only known the young man for half an hour at most, Lucas was afraid he’d say that.

“Woops.”

Sorey watched with wide, green eyes as one of the double-doors to the estate slowly swung open. It was a gorgeous, dark oak, he noted, with black metal hinges and spades plated to the side of it. His forehead still throbbed from where he had come into contact with its hard surface—right in the center where he supposed, usually, there was supposed to be a window.

He raised his free hand to his brow and winced. “What did I even trip on…?” he breathed to himself and turned to look down at the porch steps he had just came up.

Seeing nothing protruding from the stone that would be out of the ordinary, Sorey frowned. He turned back to the half-opened door and what he could see of the entryway beyond it, dimly lit by the late-afternoon sun.

He took a moment to collect himself and raised his other hand, fingers wrapped tight around his handheld camcorder. He hadn’t used it in years, not since he became a professional TV show host. Pulling it out and making use of it like he used to in his blogging days brought him an unexpected sense of nostalgia.

Sorey felt like an amateur anthropology and history university student scouting out historical sites and ignoring ‘DO NOT TRESSPASS’ signs all over again.

He turned the screen around to view himself. For a moment, he did nothing but practice his trademark grin, watching in the image feed the way his eyes crinkled at the edges with each try. He had to admit: he did look incredibly different on a personal camera rather than the professional ones the Talfryn twins filmed him with. Sorey wasn’t quite sure yet whether that would be a good or a bad thing.

Finally, he straightened up and nodded to his reflection. He pressed the red button labeled ‘record.’

“Hey everybody!” Sorey greeted to the lens with a wave and smile. “Wow, this is…awkward doing this by myself after all this time—“

He quickly pressed the stop button and winced. He shook his head. “C’mon, Sorey. That’s no way to start the show.” He rewound through the few seconds he had just recorded. He readied himself to start over. “Okay. You can do this. Just do what you normally do.”

Sorey cleared his throat.

His eyes flickered to a window to the right of the door.

For a moment, his heart forgot how to beat. For a moment, it was almost funny, because just for a moment he could have sworn he just saw something move past that dusty glass and back into the obscured shadow of the ornate brick house.

Sorey watched it for a second more.

When nothing happened, he shook his head. “Must’ve just been the curtain,” he murmured. He steadied the camera in his hand. “Okay. Here we go!” Sorey puffed out his chest and took a great inhale. “History Hunters, episode one hundred and seventeen! Take two.”

There—he could almost hear the clack of the clapperboard that Rose liked to use when one of the Talfryn twins had their hands full with the cameras.

For some reason, that calmed him.

“Hey everybody!” he greeted to the screen with a red dot slowly blinking in the corner. “It’s your friend Sorey here, bringing you an exclusive, extra-special episode of History Hunters! Today, we’re going to finally explore the beautiful, tragic, and most mysterious Camlann estate!”

He turned the camera around to view the open front door. He spun the image feed to face him again, watching carefully, as he began his narration.

“Now, what you see before you isn’t the same Camlann that first existed over two hundred years ago,” he started, making sure to guide the camera so it took in the whole, ornately-carved stone doorway. Two unlit metal lanterns hung from either side of the double-door entrance. He made sure to film those, too, as he spoke. “This Camlann, standing in the exact same spot as the original estate, was restored and modeled as much as possible to the original mansion by a man named Runaaru Lunarre. He was a little like me, you could say: a guy obsessed with history. At least he had enough money to do something about it, haha.”

Sorey stepped towards the front door, already ajar, and reached out a hand to press it open. It swung away slowly with a long creak.

“A-anyway…” For a moment, Sorey had to remember just what it was he had been going to say. It completely slipped his mind. All he could think as he stared into the dark and shadowed interior of the foyer of the infamous Camlann mansion was that it was creepy. With the dark red rug lining the wooden floor and the spider webs stretching across the upper corners of the hall, Sorey began to understand why Lucas had given him such caution, over and over again, about this place.

Boy, was he glad the sun was still up behind him. For a little while longer, at least.

“Anyway,” he started again and stepped inside. “About fifty years ago, or so, Lunarre had the place rebuilt. He tried to match the original brick on the exterior, as well as the wallpaper and carpet and furniture on the interior, to make it all like it originally had been, when it first received all of its fame.”

Sorey guided the camera to note the thin table pressed against the wall with fake flowers in a ceramic vase. There were other, rusted fake-gold knickknacks decorating its dusty surface.

Just above the small entryway table sat a golden-framed picture hanging on the wall. Sorey lifted his camcorder to view it as he, too, admired the illustration of a young boy, moon-faced and barely smiling. He had striking lavender eyes and glowing, ethereal, pale hair.

“As you can—uh—see,” Sorey muttered, committing the painting to memory. He would have to double-check his own sources later tonight to see who that was a portrait of. There were rumors that the sole heir (after Michael, of course) of the Rulay estate had hair ‘as soft as clouds’ and eyes like ‘amethysts.’ He couldn’t remember the young man’s name at the moment, but he would find it, for sure. Later. “He had to take some creative liberties in some places where we simply don’t have record of what the house actually looked like inside. But things like this, a portrait of what may be the infamous Michael Rulay’s nephew, tell me that Lunarre really did do his best to bring the mansion back to its old glamour. I can admire that in a guy.”

A sound—so soft, it could have been mistaken for his own breath except Sorey was pretty sure he didn’t laugh right then—came from somewhere behind him.

Sorey spun around, eyes wide. The camera turned with him.

Nothing.

Strange. He could have sworn there was someone…

He swallowed. “Uh, unfortunately, despite all of Lunarre’s hard work, we’ll probably never get the chance to see Camlann as it originally was. That fire I mentioned earlier…?”

Sorey stepped further into the hallway, slowly and carefully. Down to where it opened up into a great hall with a grand staircase on the far side of the marble-tiled floor. His breath caught in his throat, his eyes lighting up. In the falling sun, the ballroom looked magnificent. “The—uh—the estate. It burned down over two hundred years ago in a tragedy that brought the entire household and the Rulay family who owned it to their deaths.”

Another sound—this time to the side of him. Almost like a hitched breath.

Sorey turned and brought the camera with him.

Still nothing out of the ordinary. Just the large windows and their heavy velvet drapes set against the wall.

…what was going on, here…? Was he just getting jumpy?

“It’s…kind of a sad story,” he admitted quietly. More carefully, Sorey walked forward and further into the vast ballroom. “There are no records or evidence that tell us why or how the fire was started. One day, the home of the infamous Michael Rulay was there. The next, it was all gone and burned away.”

For a moment, Sorey wondered if he should go up the stairs. His eyes flickered up the tempting carpeted steps; then he thought better of it. Not yet, anyway, he told himself. He moved past and to the door to the right. “Along with his whole family and household. Besides Michael himself, this would have included his sister and her son—who may be the one in that painting we saw earlier—and those who worked for the estate.”

He grasped the handle of the door and swung it open as he ducked his head inside. A kitchen greeted him, with an odd mesh of more familiar and dated appliances pressed against ancient décor. The room looked half-finished, like Lunarre had still been in the process of restoring the room and filling it in with livable means when he abandoned the project.

Sorey stepped fully into the kitchen as he continued, slowly panning the camera around. His feet stepped carefully on checkerboard-tiled floor. “Although there is not a definitive record or number for the amount of people who were staffed at Camlann, we know that there was a butler who also acted as the head of the house, a governess for Michael’s nephew, a cook, a housekeeper, and a head gardener. If we assume that all of these people were all present and then died in the fire, then that would make it a grand total of—“

Sorey cut himself off. His green eyes widened.

He licked his lips as he found his voice go hoarse.

“—of…eight…deaths. Right h-here. Where I’m standing.”

On the wall to his left, just above what he could assume was an oven under a blanket of canvas, Sorey could see a red, curled handwriting pressed against the wall.

It was fresh, still dripping.

“Whoa…” Sorey breathed.

Letters that he could see, illuminated by his camcorder’s light and the setting sun seeping in through the kitchen window from outside, clearly spelled out two words, scrawled in an angry print:

‘GET OUT.’

#zestiria #sormik #sorey #mikleo #fanfic #ghost au #mod krissey writes a thing #woosh enjoy my attempt at something horror-esque

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fontasticcrablettes · 8 years ago

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Finished Berseria! Rambly thoughts below.

Ok so in general it was.... good. I was really hesitant about this game because I disliked Xillia 2 and Zestiria so much, so come after two flops I was prepared to hate this one, too. But, it definitely wasn’t as bad as either of those. It also isn’t one of my top Tales games either. Like I said in my ranking post, I think it’s good. Not great, not bad, but good.

Most of the things that irritated me about it are things it inherited from Zesty. When they got into malevolence, I groaned. However, I think they did a better job of explaining it and using it here. In Zesty, it seemed like such an arbitrary thing as well as squashing any drama, since any time Sorey started to express emotions, Lailah forced him to bottle them up. It seemed more streamlined here. Also, when Lynx and I were working on the Zesty rewrite, a lot of the concepts we created were used here. Our idea for dragons was pretty similar to what therions were here. I also liked how the characters were ultimately fighting to defend malevolence. Wiping it out completely created an Age of Lifeless Beings, and it’s better to live with wickedness than not live at all. It made for a much more dynamic conflict with Velvet et al fighting to allow humans to be flawed but free, against Artorious fighting for humans to be safe and without grief, but suppressed.

I would have liked the game more if it wasn’t tied to Zestiria and just stood on its own. Zestiria just left such a bitter taste in my mouth that every time there was a plot link, I got salty. Even more so when they did it better. I liked Zaveid well enough in Zesty, but I liked him a lot more in this one. I think he got more development and personality here and he wasn’t even a party member!

One of the things that did hold the game back though is the cast. They just... didn’t really click with me. I avoided most skits, or just skipped through them and skimmed really quick to get the gist of the dialogue. I didn’t get a strong sense of camaraderie from them the way I did with the Vesperia or Xillia casts. And for a lot of them, the depth came too late. Magilou was just kind of... there for most of the game, being unpleasant and hanging around just because. Then near the end her backstory comes out and she becomes more interesting, but that’s too late in the game to start getting invested in someone.

I also didn’t find Velvet interesting until after the confrontation with Innominat, when she stopped being so one-tracked minded about avenging Laphi. For so much of the game, she was just so deadset on this one revenge mission that I found her rather boring. “He killed my brother and I hate him and want to kill him no matter what the cost” is a good starting motivation, but after 50 hours, it’s a little stale. Whenever she slipped and showed more sides of her personality, I got excited, but it usually didn’t last.

And Rokurou... seems like a fun guy but also I don’t find him sympathetic at all. Like from my understanding his whole thing was that he wants to kill Shigure because he’s envious. Ok this is a game where you’re sort of playing as the bad guys and Rokurou is a demon but... Shigure seemed like a decent guy. He never really did anything notably evil besides generally supporting Artorious. I really could not get behind Rokurou’s quest at all. I wasn’t rooting for him and when you’re not rooting for one of the protagonists... there’s a problem.

Eizen’s alright. His whole “That’s what you get for travelling with The Reaper >:(” schtick is kind of narmy but I really like him opening up as a nerd. Not exactly my kind of character but nice enough.

I really Laphicet. I generally don’t like the kid characters in these games, but Laphicet was one of the better kids, like Elize. His gradual journey of discovering an identity for himself and becoming his own person was heartwarming.

And then there’s Eleanor. Oh, Eleanor. If you’ve spent any time on my blog you know I have Strong Feelings about Eleanor. She is by far my favourite character in the game. Her journey of slowly realizing the Abbey were the bad guys and questioning everything she believed about the world and her place in it was the most interesting character development in the game.

The game had good villains. I really like Oscar. He’s one of those great antagonists in that he isn’t a villain, but he is an antagonist. From what Oscar and Teresa know about how the world works, they’re in the right. They really are trying to save the world and help people and do what’s right. They’re heroic in that respect. But there’s more going on that they don’t know about and that makes them antagonists in the game. An antagonist who thinks he’s the hero is the most compelling kind.

Also, fuck Bienfu. I hate everything about him. I often just muted my computer whenever he spoke so I wouldn’t have to hear his voice.

So in general, the party was ok. I didn’t actively dislike them but I don’t really care about any of them or their relationships with each other (with the obvious exception being Eleanor and Laphicet).

Did not like the battle system. The whole stage system irritates me. It seems like there’s a lot less freedom in battles. If I want to use an art to open a combo, but it’s set to stage 3? Too bad, that always has to be the third arte in a combo. Or I can go to the artes page and rearrange things, which I did quite often. This enemy is resistant to martial artes? Well fuck time to go re-set my entire arte tree to put elemental attacks on stage 1. In no other Tales game did I have to rearrange my artes so often, which is a pain in the ass. It also seemed to encourage button mashing. At least in, like, Xillia, pulling off a combo meant remembering the configuration for each art and switching the button positions wen necessary. Here, you can just smash A over and over and run through a cycle of combos.

Graphics. Sometimes they were good. Other times they were muddy. I liked them best in strong light, when it was closer to cell shading. The default lighting had all the colours muddle together and it just looked bleh. No Tales graphics have held up as well as ToV’s strong cell-shading. Trying to render hair realistically will just make it look like ass in a few years when graphics surpass it.

Oh and I reeeeeally don’t like how rarely they showed the in-game models. Every time I talked to someone and the other party’s voices just... spoke from thin air.... I started moving the camera around and examining the background, or picked up my phone and did something else while half-listening. If someone is talking, I want to see them! I want to see expressions on their face! When it’s just a disembodied voice, there’s nothing to look at. It’s boring. Also, how often they used the skit style cut-ins for plot relevant scenes. While these were the most dynamic skits I’ve yet seen in a game, they are still a lot more floaty than in-game models interacting. Skits never actually touch each other, or look directly at each other, or do anything but talk at the camera with random coloured backgrounds. The scenes aren’t grounded in the environment. It as bland and also frustrating because when I put them in silly costumes, I want to see cutscenes with them in those costumes!

Ok so to wrap up.

Pros:

Eleanor

Fixed Zesty things

The Geoboard!!!

All those mini-games were great. I love Character Cards

Good villains

Interesting plot

Katz Souls are fun to pick up and a neat way to guide the player to where they need to go

Inoph and Denore bottles are a good compromise of warping at will without it being completely free.

Cons:

Battle system frustrating

Bienfu

Other than Eleanor and Laphicet, party kind of meh

Eleanor and Eizen are the only party members who have nice character designs

What exactly is a demon? How sentient are they? Inherited the same worldbuilding ???s of Zestiria

Equipment was a pain of comparing and contrasting and weighing pros and cons and fuck man I just want to get back to the game

Overuse of skits

Weird boring disembodied voices for small scenes

#Nightfoot plays Bears

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