Series: Tales of Zestiria
Main characters: Sorey, Alisha, Mikleo
Ships: Sorey/Alisha (light)
Content rating: G
Warnings: Game spoilers
Pages: 26
Ease of reading: you don't even need to read | super easy | know some grammar first | tricky | advanced | this was really heckin hard
Summary:
The story starts with Alisha sitting in the woods under a blanket, flashbacking to when the group told her the truth about Maltran. She’s interrupted by Sorey, who shows up with some hot drinks.
She worries about the state of his sight, since she’s presently his Squire again, and he assures her he’s fine. He also reminisces over how upset she looked about Maltran, and then admits that he’s glad she seems okay since he thought she might be out here crying. Alisha apologizes for worrying him, but he brushes it off and points out that they’re pretty much the same when it comes to worrying about each other.
She admits that she still can’t quite believe that Maltran is a hellion, and that she needs to determine the truth with her own eyes. Even so, she’s grateful that Sorey and the others are with her.
She apologizes for being a burden on his sight, asking that he put up with it a little longer and promising to protect him.
“I’ll most certainly protect you.”
“Of course. I’m depending on you.”
The mood shifts and Alisha assures him that one day her spiritual powers will be strong enough that she’ll no longer be a strain on him. She proposes she can be his Squire again when that happens and he instantly agrees with a serious face, which throws her for a loop since she didn’t expect such an abrupt answer.
He takes her hands and talks about traveling to see the world’s ruins one day, and then they promise to do so together and tHEY SEAL THE PROMISE BY PINKY-SWEARING I’M DYING SQUIRTLE
A little later, Alisha comments on how good her drink is. Sorey tells her that Mikleo made them... and then turns to the nearest tree and calls Mikleo’s name, fully aware that Mikleo has been eavesdropping on them, lol.
Sorey: “Hey, Mikleo! If you’re nearby, you should say something!”
Mikleo: “Well, I thought the mood was...”
Sorey: “What? I didn’t catch that.”
Mikleo: “Nothing! Jeez...”
waterbro best wingman
Mikleo joins them, and Alisha silently reflects on how they all share a similar dream.
The story then jumps to after the game’s ending, where Alisha’s visiting the church in Ladylake. She notices that someone left ice cream as an offering to Uno and runs outside, narrating about how she wants to see the world the way Sorey does and she knows that the day is coming when that wish will come true. She catches up to Mikleo, accidentally bowls him over, and he’s surprised to find that she can see him.
She cries and narrates that she feels closer to Sorey since they now walk a similar path.
Impressions:
(I’ll get around to some happier books soon I promise)
Once again I REALLY LIKE THE SOFT FRIENDLY PLOTS OVER NOT-AS-IC ROMANTIC ONES. Especially if I can easily picture them fitting right into the game, like this one. 10/10 effort on catching Sorey’s goofy nonchalance, A+ for the gentle touches and hand-holding I live for these things
I also love when other party members get incorporated into the story, especially Mikleo (since he often either A: provides some legitimately funny comic relief, B: adds some good family feels, and/or C: just steals the spotlight in general), so getting his broship with Sorey as well as Sorey’s [vague gesturing] relationship with Alisha in one plot is 👌 I’m just really fond of this trio in general and we need more of it.
Also, bonus Mikleo+Alisha interaction at the end! Yes. This is my favorite relationship-that-should-have-had-more-screentime so I am all for this. His awkward bit of comfort at the end killed me just a little.
I really like the art style, too! Really soft and expressive.
Overall very cute, very soft, pretty IC all around and something I could see in canon. I don’t use any kind of rating system for doujinshi since I think they’re all fantastic in their own way, but this one definitely makes it into my top favorites so far. It’s one of the easier SorAli doujinshi to find these days, and usually not too badly priced even if you go through a mediator website (~$20) so if you’re a collector, it’s a good one to pick up!
Series: Tales of Zestiria
Main characters: Sorey, Alisha, Mikleo
Ships: Sorey/Alisha (light)
Content rating: G
Warnings: Spoilers
Pages: 28
Ease of reading: you don’t even need to read | super easy | know some grammar first | tricky | advanced
Summary:
Are you ready for more post-canon feels
Post-epilogue Mikleo enters a room and addresses Alisha, who’s reading a book at her desk, to tell her that he wants to introduce her to someone. He’s mildly surprised to see her reading that “again,” but she smiles and tells him that’s because it’s a wonderful book.
Elsewhere, Sorey sits in an open field. He realizes that he can’t feel any malevolence around him, and briefly reflects on his journey--becoming the Shepherd, traveling with Rose and the seraphim. He wonders if everything turned out alright after that, and then starts to remember Edna telling him about the “two kinds of seraphim,” but Mikleo shows up and interrupts his thoughts.
Sorey gets up to greet him, but freezes when he sees Alisha--who’s dressed slightly different than usual, and introduces herself to him as though it’s the first time they’ve met.
Edna’s explanation continues:
“There are two kinds of seraphim: those who are born as seraphim, and those who come from humans. It’s possible for the soul of a human with a pure heart to be reborn as a seraph. But they lose all memory of the human they used to be.”
Sorey finally snaps out of his daze and also introduces himself. His name surprises Alisha, who immediately becomes starry-eyed and asks if he’s the Sorey, the previous Shepherd and hero of the Age of Chaos. Sorey’s confused by the word “hero” and the extremely formal way she’s addressing him--but Mikleo is a troll and gets a gleam in his eye and confirms his identity, which excites Alisha even more and leaves Sorey totally lost and wondering what kind of stories Mikleo has been telling.
Alisha all but leaps at him, telling him it’s an honor to meet him, that she’s read his biography (which, again, confuses him) and admires him and has always hoped to see him in person, and asks if he’s feeling well after his long sleep. Totally at a loss, he finally yells at Mikleo to explain.
Later that night, Alisha is re-reading Sorey’s biography (which Mikleo wrote) and wondering what kind of person he is. She decides that she wants to talk to him to find out, so she takes a blanket with her and finds him out in the field.
Alisha: “Lord Shepherd, please use this. The night wind can be bad for the body. ...What’s wrong?”
Sorey: “Why don’t you drop that stuffy title? Just Sorey is fine.”
Alisha: “Eh?! No, that’s...!”
Sorey: “And please don’t bother with honorifics, either.”
Despite her embarrassment, she agrees, and Sorey remarks to himself that her “formal way of talking is the same as ever.” He invites her to sit next to him and talk with him (she eagerly and respectfully exclaims that it would be an honor) and he puts the blanket around her shoulders to share it with her.
She’s embarrassed by how close they are, but after stumbling with addressing him--and using his name, as asked--she says that she noticed his odd reaction when he first saw her before. She invites him to speak his mind if something’s bothering him, assuring him that she wants to know more about him.
After a pause and a sad look, Sorey explains:
“...You... look a lot like a friend of mine. She had deep faith in the seraphim and the legend of the Shepherd. She was upright and honest, with a strong sense of duty. She gladly suffered for the sake of achieving her dreams.
Did her efforts pay off in the end? I wasn’t there to see it.
...I’m sorry. Seeing you makes me think about her.”
Watching his expression, Alisha realizes that this “Hero of the Age of Chaos” is actually just a normal, lonely boy.
Now talking to himself, Sorey wonders aloud whether (human) Alisha’s dream ever came true--and then quickly apologizes when he realizes that he’s talked too much. Alisha, however, assures him that such a dream most certainly came true, because “after all, she was your friend.” She adds that anyone who called Sorey a friend would surely be happy. Without warning Sorey takes her in his arms and hugs her tight, with tears in his eyes but a grateful smile on his face.
“...Yeah. I hope so.”
The next day, Mikleo is reflecting on Sorey’s initial reaction to Alisha and starting to worry about him. He criticizes himself a bit for how he handled it, thinking to himself that he knows that this Alisha (”that child”) isn’t the original Alisha, but suddenly doubting whether Sorey will also accept that truth. He enters Sorey’s house and finds the two of them together--reading Mikleo’s book, no less, which flusters him.
Mikleo: “W-Why are you reading that?!”
Alisha: “I’m sorry, Mikleo! He said he wanted to read it...”
Sorey: “I’m checking to see what you wrote about me, Mikleo!”
Mikleo: “That’s... embarrassing... Could you not...”
Sorey ignores him and happily goes back to the book, asking Alisha about the different pages she’s marked (she tells him they’re her favorite scenes). Mikleo starts to snap at him, but stops when he realizes that the mood between Sorey and Alisha is different than it was yesterday. He asks if something happened between them, but they only exchange smiles and, together, say that it’s a secret.
Impressions:
I thought I’d include more direct quotes of the dialogue this time, so hopefully that conveyed the mood(s) better than me just totally summarizing all of it? I’m also gonna start scanning the front and back covers, since some of them have artwork on both.
Anyhow, I love suffering for my ships so this doujinshi served me well :^) Getting my obligatory “Mikleo was really well done and I’m glad he was included” spiel out of the way, holy heck I love this whole idea?? It’s not the first time I’ve come across the Mikleo-raises-seraph!Alisha plot in the Japanese fandom, but this is definitely one of the sadder takes imo.
I could go on forever about how I loved every bit of it, but in particular, I like that it drew a solid line between seraph!Alisha and human!Alisha; it didn’t blur the distinction just to have some on-screen shippiness, but instead had Sorey recognize from the start that this Alisha is her own, separate person that he can’t just copy-paste all of his feelings onto (even if he does seem to a little bit with that hug, but that much is kind of expected, I think, and it doesn’t get Weird). Likewise it doesn’t say that Sorey and this Alisha couldn’t be more involved later on, but that’s not the focus, so it’s pretty much left up to our imagination.
Also Sorey casually sharing a blanket without a second thought is just so Sorey and cute and I love it. <3
And then the whole three-way friendship atmosphere at the end was just really nice?? I love it. I love all of it, and while I’ve always recommended the doujinshi I review, I really recommend this one. Really pretty, expressive art, and a good, IC take on the trio. The book isn’t super hard to find, but it’s not readily available, either; on mediator sites it seems to sit between $20 and $30, so it’s probably less than half that if you get it straight from Japan. I can’t remember how much I paid for it, but it was worth it. Definitely one of my favorite SorAli doujinshi out there!
Series: Tales of Zestiria
Main characters: Sorey, Alisha, Mikleo, Rose, Edna
Ships: Sorey/Alisha; Mikleo/Alisha; Mikleo/Edna (these are the author’s listed ships, but they’re all super light and can be taken platonically)
Content rating: G
Warnings: None
Pages: 36
Ease of reading: you don't even need to read | super easy | know some grammar first | tricky | advanced | this was really heckin hard
Summary:
This one’s actually made up of five short stories! Separated by ships, basically, so I’ll also break up the summary accordingly.
Story #1: Calling
This is set right after Alisha first becomes Sorey’s Squire, as she finds herself too tired to sleep after all the excitement that’s happened. She gets up for a drink of water, reflecting on how eerily quiet the inn is, when she’s suddenly grabbed from behind and screams.
Skip ahead a couple minutes and Sorey’s laughing at having spooked her, but he quickly apologizes when she acts miffed and admits he didn’t think he’d scare her that badly. Alisha, being Alisha, feels ashamed as a knight for scaring so easily and admits as much, but Sorey admits that he likes seeing a different side of her--a side that’s more relaxed, a “normal girl” instead of the Dignified Princess behavior he’s used to. She gets a bit flustered and starts to say that she’s concerned about her dignity as a knight, but Sorey interrupts and tells her “It’s not about dignity--because I know that who you are as a knight and princess has no bearing on the Alisha I want to know as a normal girl.”
She’s surprised at being thought of as a “normal girl.” Sorey suggests that, even if it’s just in front of himself and the others, she might enjoy letting her guard down more often. He mentions that he previously had a similar serious mindset, and once said out loud that he needs “to act more like a Shepherd,” which only made Mikleo angry. Alisha’s amused by the thought since it’s easy to picture.
Sorey asks her what she thinks of Mikleo and Lailah, since she saw them for the first time today. She fawns over them quite a bit, saying they’re as beautiful as she imagined, like angels, just like the tales she heard as a child depicted them... She really goes on and on about it, lol. Even Sorey finally cuts her off (”That’s too much praise, Alisha”).
She asks if all seraphim are as lovely as those two, to which he says no and explains that Gramps is an old man. They start talking about Elysia and Alisha’s surprised to learn that there were a lot of seraphim whom she couldn’t see. As honored as she feels to have been to their village, she also feels guilty for disrespecting them with the way she “ignored” them at the time. Sorey assures her that his family took no offense, and then offers that they go there together again one day so she can meet them all properly, as his Squire.
“And this time, I can introduce you to Gramps!”
She says she’s afraid of being a nuisance, but he promises that he and Mikleo will vouch for her.
And then they promise to return together via another pinky-swear, right in my feels, thanks
Story #2: Dreaming Girl
Alisha confronts Sorey and admits that she’s been wanting to try on his Shepherd’s mantle just once. She apologizes for being so selfish, since it is his gift and all, but he of course agrees and tells her she can wear it as much as she wants. She’s excited and grateful and promises to clean it after she’s done, but he tells her not to worry about it.
She tries it on, asking if she looks like a Shepherd now, and he tells her she looks fantastic and that it suits her--but he also points out that it’s pretty baggy on her, and can’t help laughing at the way the back drags on the ground. When it makes her self-conscious, Sorey just points out that she’s small and dainty--which makes her more self-conscious, and she tries to argue that she does in fact have some muscle on her. Sorey humors her and asks to see, so she lets him feel her arms while the two of them sit on his bed (in an aside comment, he’s impressed by how toned her arms are lol).
Naturally, that’s right when Mikleo walks in. He of course gets the wrong idea and starts yelling at Sorey, Alisha tries to explain that this was all her fault, and Sorey finally realizes what he’s implying and everyone’s just yelling and embarrassed.
"You’ve got it wrong, Mikleo!”
Story #3: Show some more!
Mikleo and Alisha are in a library, wondering when Sorey and the others will return from shopping, when she catches a glimpse of his circlet through his bangs. He explains that he’s always worn it since he was little, and when she asks if it’s a memento, he admits he doesn’t know since Gramps never told him anything about it. He just knows it’s important, so he always keeps it close. Alisha likens it to her armor, and they both agree they would like to know the truth one day.
She wonders why he always hides it behind his bangs, especially since it’s so pretty, and Mikleo admits that, as a guy, he thinks he’d be laughed at for wearing something girly. (whispers also his blush is the cutest thing)
“Important or not, you don’t think I’d be laughed at for wearing something made for a woman?”
Alisha decides to try and cheer him up by asking to see it, but he refuses, and they go back and forth a bit until she finally pushes his hair back herself to look at it. There’s an awkward pause as they both blush now, with Alisha realizing how much she’s encroached on his personal space--although he’s puzzled as to why she’s embarrassed.
Story #4: 3:00 snack for you
Edna pokes Mikleo and tells him to go make her some snacks since he’s not doing anything else.
“That’s not how you use an umbrella!”
He yells at her for half a page, ultimately telling her to go make it herself, but she says it’s too much trouble and that her cooking efforts aren’t super great, anyway. That surprises Mikleo, who points out that she just admitted in a rather roundabout way that his cooking is good--which annoys her, and she barks at him not to keep a lady waiting. He gives in, but not before sarcastically addressing her in an obnoxiously formal manner, which gets him smacked again.
Cut to later and he sets a dessert in front of her. She’s surprised that he can make something other than ice cream (he tells her it’s bad to have cold snacks all the time) and that it’s marron glacé. Mikleo awkwardly explains that he figured he should make her favorite dish to be sure she would actually eat it. Edna admits that it was a (surprisingly) clever idea and tries it--and tells him that even though he has a ways to go before he can compare with Eizen’s cooking, it’s still really good.
Mikleo: “As honest as ever, huh.”
Edna: “Aren’t we both?”
Story #5: Wonder
Alisha bursts into Rose’s room and asks if she’s seen a notebook anywhere. Rose gets curious and wonders why she’s so distressed over it, and teases her by asking if there might be a picture of the person she likes in there. (Alisha’s hilarious response is just “Oh, be quiet! It’s nothing like that!”)
Alisha leaves and runs into Sorey, who happened to pick the book up earlier. Before Alisha can feel too relieved, Rose pops up and takes it from him, wondering again what’s inside it and admitting that she knows that Alisha’s been writing in it every night. After some curious-but-respectful prodding from Sorey, Alisha finally admits that she’s been keeping a diary of the party’s journey, and that she thought it would be embarrassing if someone read it.
But Sorey is excited and proudly shows her his Celestial Record, which he’s also been using as a diary on their journey.
“Here’s mine, too!”
Rose proposes that instead of Alisha writing about everyone else on her own, they all pitch in on the writing effort and eventually exchange diaries. She starts thinking of good titles that would sell (”A Record of the Lord Shepherd and His Party”), and Sorey points out that she’s going to make Mikleo mad again. (the “again” made me laugh, ngl)
This cheers Alisha up and she thanks them both, saying she’s looking forward to seeing everyone’s diary after the journey’s over. Rose teases her some more, saying she’ll want to sneak peeks at her diary from now on; when Sorey says that he will, too, Alisha objects and confuses him, while Rose seems to catch on to something she isn’t saying.
Impressions:
I love this art style!! It’s so clean and pretty and expressive! And looks better than some of the official artwork if I’m being totally honest, lol. The stories are super cute, and even though it’s SorAli focused, I really like the screentime that other characters/relationships get. The way each ship is kept pretty light so you can take them as either shippy or platonic is pretty neat, too.
The first story is adorable with Sorey being his usual supportive self, + yassss more Elysia family talk, even if it makes me sad for several reasons :C
The second story is so cute I could die. It’s just so wholesome and precious and happy and I love?? these two?? so much??? I would take a bullet for their relationship it’s so pure
I wish the Mikleo/Alisha one had been longer!! I do have what few MikAli doujinshi exist, sans the lone R18 one which appears to have been lost to time, so I can’t really complain BUT STILL Also I am 110% accepting the headcanon that he hides his circlet because he’s embarrassed by it. (first impressions: he wore it openly as a kid because he didn’t realize/care it was “girly,” and then cared as a teenager because Awkward Years, and then got over it after meeting Muse 👀 )
The Mikleo/Edna one is cute! I don’t actively ship it, but I can get behind it, albeit more so as an epilogue thing. (I do have a few doujinshi for them, since they’re more back-and-forth tsundere humor than real “romance,” which I can definitely appreciate.) Otherwise their grudging friendship is ridiculously cute and I love it.
Sorey and Alisha stood out the most in the fifth story, imo. (ngl I am really hard-pressed in finding accurate fan depictions of Rose; I’ve seen some good ones in gen-based and Rose/Dezel doujinshi, but in Sorey/Alisha and even the few Sorey/Rose ones I’ve come across, she tends to be... ehhhnotsogood.) It was still a cute three-way friendship to show off, though! gimme those double Squire AUs pls
Between the couple translation projects I have going on, I’m also going to start doing some doujinshi reviews, because... A) why not? B) I would have appreciated this back when I had zero knowledge of Japanese and wanted to know what some of these were about, C) ayyy more excuses to talk about things I like. ...and by that I really just mean Zestiria because that’s the only thing I’ve bought doujinshi for at this point.
I also have more info about my translations on my About Me page if anyone’s curious.
Anyhow, I’ll start this off with a (comparatively) short and simple review:
Title: Words of Promise
Author: かまだ
Circle: C-chicken
Series: Tales of Zestiria
Main characters: Sorey, Alisha
Ships: Sorey/Alisha (light)
Content rating: G
Warnings: game spoilers
Pages: 24
Ease of reading: you don't even need to read | super easy | know some grammar | tricky | advanced | this was really heckin hard
Summary:
The majority of the book is a flashback, as Alisha reflects on the last time she saw Sorey before his disappearance. It’s a slight AU in which he did go see her before leaving for Camlann, knowing full well he would never see her again. (Spoiler: I was sad through this whole thing.)
Sorey shows up at Alisha’s manor without the seraphim. She tells him peace efforts with Rolance are going well, she’s been busy, etc., and he ultimately talks her into heading back to Elysia with him. (Although that’s like a two-day journey, so... maybe that was AU’d out, lol.)
They talk about the first time they met, and how Alisha’s life has changed for the better since then. She thanks him for opening her eyes to the world, but he tells her that he should be the one thanking her, as she helped set him on the path he’s on now. (insert a goofy short where she proposes he would have been a Raine-esque archaeologist instead... to which he agrees that it’s likely. lol)
Alisha assures him that all of his growth and choices are entirely to his credit, and that all she did was give him an excuse to start down that path. She adds that she needs to keep doing her best, as well, and Sorey says he’ll be cheering for her--but then teases her by pretending to doubt that decision.
He asks if she remembers her True Name, and admits that he likes seeing her succeed because he gets to see her smile.
Alisha panics and apologizes, assuming she’s been making a “harsh” expression in comparison since he brought it up, but he assures her that she looks “as cute as always.” This makes her flailing worse because now she’s embarrassed.
Sorey moves on and expresses his confidence that she’ll be alright from now on (despite her tendency to throw herself headlong into things) because she has a lot more people supporting her, like Sergei and Lucas. (tfw a doujinshi gives Lucas some love where the official anime and manga don’t ;_;) He takes her hand and asks (glossing over it as his “last wish”) that from now on she’ll remember her true name whenever she’s chasing her dreams and recite its meaning to herself. That way he’ll always know that she’s smiling, and it will give him the strength to do his best, as well.
“This isn’t a Squire’s pact, but a promise.”
Alisha agrees and the flashback ends. She narrates in a sad tone that she hasn’t seen him since then, but adds that she’s confident he’s trying his best wherever he is--and that she’ll also do her best, and she’ll always smile when she thinks of him so as not to disgrace the name he gave her.
Impressions: For some reason the heartache of this ship is a large part of what pulls me to it, so even though things like this GIVE ME ACTUAL CHEST PAINS I’m really happy to see it! Not to mention Sorey usually falls on the OOC side of things in a lot of doujinshi, so seeing him as his usual perceptive-but-still-a-dork self like this was really nice.
And imo this is a humble ship that gets by on honest exchanges and mutual respect rather than the more physical and “obvious” displays of romance, which this caught really well. Granted, I do enjoy kissy-kissy style plots, don’t get me wrong, but I really appreciate stories like these that hearken back to what Sorey’s and Alisha’s core relationship in the game was.
...Plus, while I’ve made my peace with the fact that Sorey didn’t tell her goodbye (and am content with what I figure were his reasons for doing so), I like AUs that explore that possibility. ...Or any possibility besides the sad one that we got. lol
I admittedly have a lot more AliSore doujinshi (and am still on the hunt for the few I don’t) and I plan to review those, too, albeit at a slower pace than my other translations. If there are any doujinshi that you have or you’re curious about, feel free to request a summary! I want to get to them all eventually anyway, so I don’t mind bumping my queue around if there’s an interest in certain ones.
I’ll do you one better, and combine both into one (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞
...also this probably isn’t what you signed up for I’M SORRY
#6 - things you said under the stars and in the grass#15 - things you said with too many miles between us
---------
( It was probably close to midnight when Alisha arrived, taking her usual place on the ground just a stone’s throw away from the cliff’s edge. She found she liked this time of night: it was a deeper silence, a warmer darkness than if she had come just after sunset as she usually did.
Her greeting was an apology. “I’m sorry for being so late－and for taking so long. I’d like to visit as often as I used to, but there has been so much to do lately…” She knew she didn’t need to give an excuse－Sorey was always forgiving－but she looked forward to these visits, and encroaching on that privilege in any way always hit her with a twinge of guilt.
“Hyland and Rolance have agreed to setting up a midway point in the Basin,” she went on, looking in his direction as she made herself comfortable. “A small town under equal jurisdiction between the kingdoms.” )
Sorey was reclined on the grass, arms folded beneath his head. It was a clear night, his favorite kind, with more stars overhead than he could hope to count. “I heard about the joint town. I’m sure you were pretty busy with that for a while… but I bet you were excited, too,” he added with a knowing grin.
( “I’m looking forward to it,” she confessed with a sheepish smile. “It’s… quite a bit of pressure, but I feel I’m up to the challenge.” )
“I can’t wait to see it.”
( “I hope it’s doing well by the time you visit.” She chuckled quietly. “I’m certain Mikleo will be glad to tell you all about it.” )
“I’ve heard good things－mostly through Mikleo. It sounds like you really put your all into it－well, into everything, really.” There was some pride in his tone. “Not that I expected anything different. I knew you’d go far.”
( Her smile stayed as a comfortable silence took over, but her quiet sigh betrayed what was behind it. She ran her palm along the dry, sparse grass, watching the blades bend beneath her touch but unable to feel them through her glove. Close, but not close enough.
She loved these visits, but a small part of her also dreaded them. All too soon she would have to leave again, returning to her life away from him, and it always hurt more than she thought it still should.
“I’m sure you don’t want to hear an apology,” she said at length, hesitantly. “All the same… I really am sorry that I can’t show it to you myself.” Her hand fell still. Her next breath was short, held, and then released slowly. Her smile turned a little wry. “I always tell myself that I won’t… let my emotions get the better of me when I’m here, but…”
It was hard. It was so hard, especially out here in the dark and silence with him, as close as she would ever be.
She quickly shook her head, willing away the pressure building in her chest, behind her eyes. Her voice remained steady; she’d had a lot of practice. “Please don’t take this the wrong way. You make me so happy, Sorey－you’ve given me nothing but good memories. It’s selfish of me to want anything more.”
－But she did, she always did, and had every day for the last three years now－)
“You’re strong,” he said quietly. “Whatever your regrets, I know you learned from them. But…” He smiled as a star suddenly shot across the blue-black sky. “I don’t think there was ever anything to worry about. To be honest, you taught me a lot－about strength, and what it means to support other people.” He gave a short, apologetic laugh and ran a hand distractedly through his hair. “I guess I’m just saying… that if I was able to go so far, then you were always a given. You had a lot more promise than I did.”
( Alisha took her time breathing in again, out again, until her unspoken words were no longer thick in her throat and she was sure she could speak without wavering. Even then she took her time, closing her eyes and focusing on nothing more than the evening breeze and starlight on her skin. That, too, was something he had taught her: the love of such small, precious things.
“I’ll be alright,” she promised him. “You gave me so much－and you’ve trusted me more than I ever realized. I won’t let any of it go to waste. But…” Her smile was a small one now, sad and wistful. “You showed me how to be honest with myself. And I would be lying if I said I was perfectly happy－and I would be lying to you, as well.” And that was the most unthinkable offense of all.
“So…” Her next inhale was sharp, and with her next quiet exhale, finally, came the tears. “Forgive me for still seeming so frail－but－if it’s you… I don’t mind,” she said quietly. “I’m alright with being frail around you.”
She pulled her legs close, pressed her face to her knees, and gave in.
Crying didn’t hurt anymore. It was a small, selfish release, an outlet for all the feelings she normally pushed aside: regret, but not shame; sadness, but not grief; longing, but not despair. The fleeting thoughts of what if and what could have been no longer kept her up at night, but they still stung and teased her dreams from time to time. Out here, with him, she could let those thoughts take over, if just for a little while－out here she was a little closer, and that was all she could ask for anymore.
She went undisturbed for several minutes, as expected, until her eyes and throat were finally dry and she wasn’t clutching her ankles quite so tightly. When at last she raised her head, she raised it high, back straight and shoulders steady and expression once again controlled, her grateful smile back in place even as her tears blurred the stars and the single pillar of white light on the horizon. )
After a few minutes of silence Sorey finally sat up. He hadn’t been sure what he would say when he came here, so perhaps the few words he’d found were, for now, enough.
He climbed to his feet and turned to the tall monument, a marble pillar aged by centuries but still beautiful, still commanding in presence as it stood at nearly twice his height. He touched his hand to the inscription, fingertips tracing the engraved letters in the white surface. He didn’t have to struggle to read in the low light; he felt out her birth name, her epitaph－Beloved Princess of Hyland, Ambassador to Rolance, and Leader of the People－and, beneath that, spelled out in the alphabet of the Ancient Tongue: Melphis Amekia.
He breathed a small sound that wasn’t quite a laugh, wasn’t quite a sigh.
“Well… I’ll see you next month,” he murmured, his smile crooked. “I should have a lot more to talk about then.”
Series: Tales of Zestiria
Main characters: Sorey, Alisha (+ minor but notable Mikleo and Lailah)
Ships: Sorey/Alisha (light)
Content rating: G
Warnings: None
Pages: 13
Ease of reading: you don’t even need to read | super easy | know some grammar first | tricky | advanced | this was really heckin hard
Summary:
The party’s hanging out somewhere when Alisha walks in, looking flushed. Sorey asks if she’s alright, she says she feels fine, but he decides to check her temperature anyway by placing his forehead against hers--which gets Shocked Pikachu faces out of Lailah and Mikleo--and agrees that she only feels a little warm.
As Mikleo often does in SorAli doujinshi, lol, he swoops in to defend Alisha’s honor and punches Sorey in the head, which of course confuses Sorey because what did he do wrong
As the boys bicker, Lailah notices that Alisha’s face is much more red now (wonder why...) and starts to worry about her--right in time for Alisha to pass out on the spot, throwing everyone into a concerned panic.
She wakes up in bed with Sorey sitting nearby, who explains that she collapsed (and has no idea why). Alisha admits in her feverish daze that she’s glad, as it’s been a long time since someone’s looked after her while she’s sick like this. She apologizes just as quickly for being a burden and saying something so selfish, but Sorey sympathizes, explaining that Mikleo and the rest of their family would fuss over and take care of him whenever he was sick as a kid, so he understands why she likes the feeling.
He goes so far as to give her face a comforting touch, and while it flusters her at first, she ends up laughing and commenting on how direct he is. She adds that she can tell he was raised by people who really loved him, and thinks to herself about what a meek and docile heart he has, unlike herself.
I think the joke in this next part is that Sorey considers her comment on his honesty to be a compliment, so he decides to give her a compliment back--which, being Sorey, consists of telling her without batting an eye that she’s very beautiful.
After a pause, Alisha apologizes, and then says she’s suddenly feeling feverish again... and passes out a second time, causing Sorey to panic exactly as he did before.
In a brief narration, Alisha comments that, as his friend, she wants to live up to what he thinks of her.
Impressions:
Sorey being clueless about social cues is one of my favorite things about him, so I love what a derp he is here. and caretaking plot, yes <3 I also love when he talks about his family, which seems to happen a lot in doujinshi! once again the JP fandom has my back.
Anyhow, this is another case of the SorAli bits being on the more casual/friendly side of things, which is still plenty (and believably) adorable.
This is a short, sweet, and simple doujinshi that pretty much speaks for itself; you can ignore the dialogue entirely and still understand 90% of it. combined with the really nice art style, I definitely think it’s worth grabbing if you’d fancy a copy.
This is one of the trickier SorAli books to find these days, though, and I had to get it secondhand as opposed to a reprint, but it was still a decent price for a mediator site (~$23), all things considered. forever crying for getting into Zestiria so late and missing out on several single-run issues rip
