ok bear with me i'm sending this a smidgen late but how much do you think sorey's opinions of humans & the human world changes over the course of the game? like we know he learns a lot more about them and the reality of things, but how much do you think that impacts his initial views of humanity itself?
Okay I read some undertale meta a long time ago and none of it is really that relevant to this but I just loved this quote in particular: Plenty of people go from naively believing the best in everyone, to making an informed and rational decision to believe the best in everyone. And that’s basically Sorey’s development on his views of humanity. He’s always had a very optimistic view– it just gets more nuanced and well-informed as his journey progresses.
I actually touched upon this a bit in my meta post about his childhood in Elyysia– while not all of the Seraphims do, many of the Elysians show a high level of dislike and distrust of humans. None of these feelings encompass Sorey for whom they love and accept as one of their own, but that plays partly into how Sorey sees Humans. All he’s ever heard of humans came from the books and the other Elysians.
Don’t trust the land-dwellers. They will cause nothing but chaos to our domain. You never know if someone’s a scoundrel just by their appearance, are the more negative things the Elysians do say, and the more neutral ones tend to emphasize the difference between Sorey and the rest. Sorey was special because of his resonance, and he was raised among him, so he was okay.
I think because of the lengths the Elysians went through to make Sorey feel comfortable and accepted, he doesn’t see too much of a difference between himself and the seraphim. And despite everything he hears about the humans down below, they’re humans, and he was human, so how different could they be from him?
That’s why he has a goal of seeing all humans and seraphim living in coexistence one day. With himself as the only reference, living so closely to seraphim that were his very family, he believes that it could not be that difficult to bridge the two sides– and who better to try and bring this about than him, a child of both worlds?
Do you know how important it is that Sorey’s first contact with a human is Alisha? I’ve mentioned above all those impressions he has of humans from second-hand info. The seraphim, and what’s written down in books. But Alisha is the first time he ever meets another human in person, and she is his first impression of humanity in the lands below. And it was such an important meeting because that sort of set Sorey’s baseline and Alisha is someone who shares a lot of the same vision as Sorey.
Alisha is hard-working, kind, willing to stand for what’s right. She believes in and reveres the seraphim, and holds the Celestial Record dear to her heart. She is the first human he meets, and she was living proof that his dream could be reality. If there were other humans like her, then there was hope for a future of coexistence. It really helped give him hope– I mean imagine if the first human he met was someone like General Langdon?
And in the first part of the game, Sorey has two very different experiences with humanity. As a whole, he learns that they really are the cause of malevolence. He sees how thick it is in Ladylake, the lack of faith people have. He runs into people like the council, and he finds hellions walking among the humans, he sees their fear when he repairs the bridge for their sake. It’s not a great outlook and he finally knows what the Age of Chaos truly looks like, but that’s not all he sees. My roommate actually made a comment while we were playing that I thought summarized the first arc of the game really well: there’s a theme of good people in a bad world.
Alisha. Bruenor, who showed steadfast belief and devotion to the seraphim. Nief, who showed him not fear but gratitude for his help and wanted nothing more than to aid the ailing people of Marlind. Lucas, who would not squander the trust his men had in him. The Soldier who despite being injured, was determined to keep pressing on to Ladylake to warn the city. Rose, the assassin who did what she thought was necessary to lessen the suffering around her. Sergei, who was devout and loyal and strong despite the system working against him. No matter how bad things get, he keeps meeting all these good, pure people who despite it all stand for their own beliefs. Even Slenge was someone he could admire for his determination to protect his people.
Shining beacons of hope. They’re the reason to keep going, they’re the reason Sorey knows that a difference can be made. And he might even meet more of the people on the contrary than those shining lights, people who have fallen– in ways like Forton or ways like Romano, but even then those lights holding back the darkness are still all he needs.
Because in the end, to achieve his dream, Sorey entrusts his very life and soul to humanity.
“Even if humans appear who can see and talk to seraphim…there’s no guarantee that they’ll choose the path of coexistence.” “I believe in them.”
He believes in them. He trusts that there will be those bright shining beacons of hope, who will take up the burden and mantle of the shepherd as long as he gives them the means to do so. Sorey was trusting that people would carry on the fight, would work towards a better future despite the hardships, despite the possible failure.
He believes in them.
Because if they don’t show the strength that he has seen in humanity, not only will his dream never be realized, Sorey will never wake up.
