[Application]
[nick / name]: Avocado Laura
[personal LJ name]: dismentality
[other characters currently played]: Andy Gallagher :: Supernatural :: projectionary
Vexen :: Kingdom Hearts :: frigidfourth
[e-mail]: sinfulroses@gmail.com
[AIM / messenger]: Arcfiring (AIM/Y!M)
[series]: Tales of Symphonia
[character]: Zelos Wilder
[character history / background]:
Zelos was born into the lineage of the current Chosen of Mana in a world known as Tethe'alla. Tethe'alla was connected by four mana links to another world known as Sylvarant, and depended on the flow of mana from that world in order to flourish. Mana is the source of all life, needed for both magic and the construction of more advanced technology. According to legend, the Chosen One was the one born every generation that was expected to go on a journey to regenerate the world (when in actuality, all they were doing was reversing the mana flow).
Living in Meltokia, a city where there was a very large rift in between the upper and lower classes, Zelos was unable to live a life that could be called 'normal'. The reason for this was simple: he was the future Chosen One, thus he was an important figure in society. Even though he would never regenerate the world (Tethe'alla was already the prospering world when he was born), he still had a significant amount of power, wealth, and influenece.
While he was still a young child, it was revealed that his father had a mistress on the side. His mother, Mylene, had been forced to marry his father because of an oracle-- it ensured the continued lineage of the Chosen. Soon after the mistress was discovered, his father committed suicide, leaving Zelos's mother to fare for her son. The mistress, a young half-elf, also had his daughter, whom she named Seles.
Zelos's own mother never did much and he suspected that she wasn't fond of him, so it came as a pleasant surprise when she agreed to play in the snow with him one day. Zelos was absolutely determined to see a smile on her face, working hard to build her a snowman.
The pleasant day started to fall apart the moment he called her to come see it. Seles's mother had wanted Zelos dead so that his half-sister, Seles, could become the new Chosen One. From her hiding place in the bushes, she couldn't see well enough to aim properly, and the crossfire struck Zelos's mother just as she stepped up to see the snowman. As she fell, she grabbed Zelos's shoulder and told him "You should never have been born".
On that night, his life was completely transformed. The half-elf woman was executed for crimes against the Chosen, and Seles was sentenced to live under house arrest in an Abbey. Because it was a half-elf that murdered his mother, coupled with the negative view through which society already perceived them, this was when he began to hate the race as a whole. Still, it didn't stop him from visiting Seles often-- he even left his Cruxis Crystal (the crystal he was born with that solidifies his status as the Chosen One) with her. Zelos himself disapproved of the arrangements, but he was incapable of changing them.
He grew up, in all appearances, to become a hopeless womanizer with no sense of responsibility.
Eventually, it came time for the Chosen in Sylvarant to begin her journey of regeneration. Tethe'alla, having been aware of the true connection between the worlds thanks to knowledge shared by a group called the Renegades, sent a girl from the village of Mizuho, Sheena Fujibayahi (also a long time acquaintance of Zelos), to assassinate her, thereby granting Tethe'alla the chance to prosper for a while longer.
Instead, she ended up joining with them in hopes of reaching a compromise-- Colette, Sylvarant's Chosen, was losing her humanity in the journey. Apparently, it was all part of the 'angel transformation'-- what happens to the Chosen One as the journey progresses and they unlock more seals. This was something Zelos hadn't been aware of, and also something which he had no desire to experience.
When the group from Sylvarant arrived, they were lead by a boy named Lloyd. Wasting no time in telling Colette (whom was in something of a mindless state at the time) that she'd be cute as a button when she smiles, he waved them off and went about his business. It wasn't until they were meeting with the king that things got more interesting. Zelos was assigned to keep tabs on them-- not just by the king, but by another group know as the Renegades as well.
Luckily for Lloyd's group, the Renegades were the ones he decided to side with in the end, meaning that he became something of a 'criminal' in the eyes of the king and the Pope, helping Sylvarant's Chosen in regaining her humanity.
Zelos dropped many suspicious hints along the way, such as 'accidentally' leading them into a trap, and vanishing inside an enemy fortress for a time without explanation. This is because he is working as not a double agent, but a triple agent. In addition to Lloyd's group and the Renegades, he also had a deal with Cruxis-- they had agreed to free him from his duties as the Chosen if he helped them.
Over time, they were successful in not only saving Colette, but in uncovering the true connection between the worlds, realizing that the only way to save both worlds would be to forge pacts with the summon spirits in both worlds. Each Sylvarant spirit was connected by a mana link to another in Tethe'alla. No two spirits ought to be awake at the same time, else the mana cannot flow from on to the other, effectively severing the link.
This journey was interrupted at a point when a dwarf that had helped them, Altessa, was wounded. The party traveled to the snowy city of Flanoir to seek a doctor, and that night, Zelos invited Lloyd for a walk, telling him the story of his mother's death, and giving his friend his Cruxis Crystal the next morning alongside a letter.
As Altessa was recoving, they then decided to infiltrate the Tower of Salvation-- the place that would provide their only entrance into Cruxis. Zelos convinced Lloyd to take Colette along, seemingly because he believed it was the right thing to do. In actuality, he planned to hand her over to the enemy in a feat 'betray' his friends. He couldn't tell them at the time, but he was working for Kratos (Lloyd's dad, and an angel of Cruxis), fulfilling his request of obtaining Aionis, which Lloyd would need in order to wield the eternal sword. This was the sword they required in order to merge the two worlds, but still could not be used without first making a pact with the summon spirit, Origin.
As they were leaving for the Tower, Lloyd told Zelos "I trust you"-- exactly what he needed to hear. He then led Colette into the trap, vanishing with Pronyma.
However, as his friends fell into dangerous traps one by one, he set them free, rejoining Lloyd at the end and announcing his intention to double-cross Mithos Yggdrasill, the four thousand year old leader of Cruxis. He cited the reason: because the title of the Chosen One won't matter anyway once they kick his ass. It was a close escape from the Tower, but an escape nonetheless, their next destination becoming the elf-village of Heimdall. Here resided the spirit Origin, whom they needed to create the pact with.
That night, Zelos spoke with Lloyd again, making it clear that Kratos's treatment of his own son really pissed him off. Lloyd didn't seem too bothered by Kratos's actions, again proving to be an idealist. He told Zelos that, after the journey, he planned to go on another one, this time to collect all the exspheres in the world and destroy them. Since exspheres were human lives in a sense, Zelos saw no problem with this plan-- as a matter of fact, he told Lloyd that he'd tag along.
Events at the seal didn't go over too smoothly either, as Lloyd had to fight his father in order to break it. Kratos nearly died releasing the seal (only to be saved by Yuan, leader of the Renegades), and they were finally successful in creating the pact. Things were looking up-- that is, until the exsphere Genis was holding (a gift from his friend Mithos back when he was disguising himself as a young half-elf), began to glow. Mithos was able to use it to possess someone, the one he had in mind being Lloyd himself. Zelos grabbed the exsphere from him before Mithos had the chance, ending up as the one possessed in Lloyd's place.
Mithos was in for a nasty surprise. Just as Lloyd reached him (the rest of the party had fallen into a trap), Zelos shook off the control-- although he couldn't manage to remove the exsphere. Now all that was left was rescuing the rest of their friends, and finishing Yggdrasill off for good. Yggdrasill's ideal world, the world he was so fixated on gaining, was a world wherein nobody had their own sense of self-- mindless puppets with no personality.
As a group, they made it through Vinheim, now one warp space away from the final battle with Mithos.
More info here if required
[character abilities]:
Zelos is a Magic Swordsman, meaning that he mixes magical abilities (such as fire or lightning properties) with his sword techniques. He performs healing arts, as well as magical spells.
In addition, some of his reflexes have been enhanced via expheres, giving him alternate abilities depending on which skills he chooses to use. And if you feel like getting fourth-wally, every woman he talks to gets the strong desire to give him their stuff. 8|
[character personality]:
"Now, now, settle down, my darling hunnies! ♥"
Despite how he acts on the surface, Zelos has a personality that can be extremely hard to pin. Anyone's first impression of him is that he is an immature, walking libido-- and a pretty shallow one. He flirts with almost every woman in sight, though he does have boundaries with age (so he'll tell them to come find him in ten years instead). Still, he's more for the charm and less for the action, knowing that they don't really care about him. He claims that he only wants to have a good time and is constantly joking around (even lying to others for his own amusement), rarely the type to take a situation seriously.
The truth of the matter is that he acts this way because he wants to live the 'fun, easy life'-- even when he knows he never will because his life only has worth as the 'Chosen One', not as 'Zelos Wilder'. He lacks his sense of identity and seeks to get it back by acting like nothing exists to suppress it in the first place. Under the circumstances he grew up in, he's been led to develop a sense of self-loathing and worthlessness, closing up to the people around him, and using his own personality as a means of detecting the people that really care about him in a world where people only wanted to be associated with him because of his title and standing. His mother even told him as she lay dying that he should never have been born, which were words he took to heart at a young age.
"I know that they're normal people, just like you and me. But that's what discrimination is about. Knowing that, and still not being able to shake that feeling..."
However, he isn't incapable of being serious, and there's no doubt that he isn't nearly as stupid as he acts. Zelos actually has a knack for manipulating others simply by allowing them to underestimate him. It's as though he's waiting for someone to see through him, and is often taken for granted even when he does speak his mind. If he thinks someone is being an idiot, he'll tell them he thinks they're being an idiot. This makes him come across as blunt and uncaring, despite the fact that his words are often the pure, non-sugarcoated truth.
Zelos wouldn't leave someone hanging if he saw them giving it their all-- but he wouldn't go out of his way and do the work for them either. He'd rather give them the opportunity to do it on their own, thereby allowing them to learn from what was once a difficult situation. He can rationalize, and over time has come to accept most of his own faults because of both this, and the trust his friends had in him. Due to that last point, he even began to overcome some of his hatred towards half-elves.
"Damn! I must be a genius!"
Another point worth mentioning about Zelos is that he acts very narcissistic. Often, he serves as the comic relief within his group of friends due to this very reason-- he'll either be stunned upon hearing that someone disagrees with his self-flattering views, or he'll tell them not to be jealous, giving the illusion of an ego so inflated that he hardly noticed he was being insulted.
On top of that, he tends to live by the motto 'whatever will be, will be', with a preference to sit back, relax, and just let things run their course. His mind can change with the right persuasion, but there was once a time when Zelos wouldn't have hesitated to take the easy way out and side with the strongest. It didn't make him a coward in the typical sense- he's strong, unshakingly devoted to those that manage to get close to him, and a genuinely good person. At the time, what it made him was a moral coward that didn't know how to deal with his own problems, such as guilt over his mother's death and his half-sister's fate because of it. Luckily, the brunt of it is in the past.
"Me? You want me to carry this ogre by myself? Are you kidding me?"
He is a bit selfish, looking out for himself first and foremost, but this is again due to his past trust issues-- with the exception of someone that he truly considers an enemy, he wouldn't abandon a person in need.
Believe it or not, what reveals a more sensitive side of Zelos is his younger half-sister, Seles. He cares greatly for her, to the point where he actually seems rather protective. Since it was often said that Seles would have been a greater Chosen had Zelos been killed all those years ago, they had a rocky relationship on the surface, most of which they've managed to work out.
Finally, what may seem strange for someone like Zelos is that he has the keen ability to detect the feelings of those around him. He'll normally act as observant as a brick, yet that's only because his efforts to cheer someone up come across as obnoxious. When Sheena was distraught once, for example, it was Zelos that realized they shouldn't be walking on eggshells around her because of how that might make her feel as a result. He tries to remain lighthearted to avoid putting more weight on an already heavy situation.
He has these surprising displays of insight and motivation, aspects that throw people off because they're never expected from him. Of course, he still manages to live up to their expectations when breasts are involved.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: From the end of Tales of Symphonia (the first game), just before taking the warp square to go face off against Mithos.
[journal post]:
Whoa, whoa, whoa, am I missing something, or am I missing something? Guys? Yo, Lloyd! [Well, clearly there are no signs of the rest of the group--] Damn it.
Huh. I don't know what's going on here, but this is so starting to feel like me getting screwed over somehow.
Oh, by the way? On the screwed over part? I think you-- whoever you are-- could've picked a better time to try messin' with me. I mean, what kind of ass yanks a guy out of the picture right when he's en route to a sure victory? Unless Yggdrassill was the one who Not that I doubt the rest of them or anything, but it miiight help with beating the snot outta that Mithos kid if I was there to lead the show, m'kay. Call it an intuitive guess.
Man...
[third person / log sample]:
Whatever will be, will be.
It wasn't just a motto for Zelos, it was the basis for nearly every decision he'd ever made. When in doubt, choose the side more likely to win. Don't waste time wondering what'll happen to the losing side afterward-- just let things play out on their own. What happens, happens. Concern over the outcome had never been a problem of his, even from a position of wealth and prestige. Hell, he was used to getting everything he ever wanted, no questions asked. And the sad, sad part was that he never cared. Zelos Wilder, the worthless Chosen who would never save the world.
Too bad his nature was taking one serious kick. For once, the redheaded Chosen was actually worried. He had friends that put their trust in him, he had motivation, and he had the determination to do something with it. So this? This was a really crappy setback.
Not only was this freaky city bigger than Meltokio, he'd been wandering its streets for hours. Not minutes. Hours. Shops, bars, and beautiful little ladies aside, he couldn't seem to find anything to indicate one way or the other which of the two worlds he was in. Nothing was characteristic of Tethe'alla, but nothing was characteristic of Sylvarant either. At least, no corner of Sylvarant that he'd seen in the time he spent there. Sylvarant didn't have amusement parks, for one thing. And just how loud was that monster of a clock? He couldn't see one, but he heard the ticking all the same.
"I swear, it's enough to drive a guy out of his mind," he actually yawned, feigning boredom as best he could in order to avoid too many stares. Attention, he could do. Just not right now when he didn't feel like getting caught while he was totally out of it.
It wasn't just the scenery, either. Calling a city The City was about as unoriginal as you can get. How about the Grand Central Capital? All the initial blandness with a twist of creativity. Even the vague, passing thought brought up the question of where the City was located. He'd have to be pretty damn stupid to believe half of what he'd heard.
All this time trying to figure out where he was, while the rest of the guys were probably already through with Mithos. Zelos had no way of knowing the outcome, but thinking that they'd lost was one thing he outright refused to do. Idealism: not his strong suit, yet still something he was starting to pick up on-- it probably leeched over from spending all that time with Lloyd and them. If you can't know something for sure, then wondering about it won't change it any. But assuming the worst? That won't either. He'd rather think about them kicking the twerp to the curb and call in an apology for his detour once he got back.
A sigh.
Things always had to get complicated, didn't they? This kind of emotional conflict was the type he always did his best to avoid.
"And y'know, even if there weren't any weird sounds, this place would still piss me off," as if stating the obvious would make a difference. Luckily, nobody was close enough to hear. One of the first times he actually wanted to be ignored-- not for long, of course. Only long enough for him to know what he was looking for before he asked about it. That lead right into the other thing Zelos wanted-- he wanted to believe his first reaction, that this was a trick of Mithos'.
Too bad it was all too vivid. He shook his head, blinking slowly at what appeared to be a bakery. Somehow he'd managed to zone out, the ghost of tight-jawed frustration surfacing briefly. Must've been all that deep thinking-- never a great idea to distract yourself when you're lost already, huh?
"Didn't I just walk by that buil--" Yeah, no contest. He definitely just walked by it. There was no way any two different shops would look so much alike. "Oh, okay. This is officially depressing now."
Looks like his first stop was decided for him. When looking on your own fails, get a tour guide. Much as he enjoyed the sound of his own voice, it obviously wasn't about to start spewing out directions.
[personal LJ name]: dismentality
[other characters currently played]: Andy Gallagher :: Supernatural :: projectionary
Vexen :: Kingdom Hearts :: frigidfourth
[e-mail]: sinfulroses@gmail.com
[AIM / messenger]: Arcfiring (AIM/Y!M)
[series]: Tales of Symphonia
[character]: Zelos Wilder
[character history / background]:
Zelos was born into the lineage of the current Chosen of Mana in a world known as Tethe'alla. Tethe'alla was connected by four mana links to another world known as Sylvarant, and depended on the flow of mana from that world in order to flourish. Mana is the source of all life, needed for both magic and the construction of more advanced technology. According to legend, the Chosen One was the one born every generation that was expected to go on a journey to regenerate the world (when in actuality, all they were doing was reversing the mana flow).
Living in Meltokia, a city where there was a very large rift in between the upper and lower classes, Zelos was unable to live a life that could be called 'normal'. The reason for this was simple: he was the future Chosen One, thus he was an important figure in society. Even though he would never regenerate the world (Tethe'alla was already the prospering world when he was born), he still had a significant amount of power, wealth, and influenece.
While he was still a young child, it was revealed that his father had a mistress on the side. His mother, Mylene, had been forced to marry his father because of an oracle-- it ensured the continued lineage of the Chosen. Soon after the mistress was discovered, his father committed suicide, leaving Zelos's mother to fare for her son. The mistress, a young half-elf, also had his daughter, whom she named Seles.
Zelos's own mother never did much and he suspected that she wasn't fond of him, so it came as a pleasant surprise when she agreed to play in the snow with him one day. Zelos was absolutely determined to see a smile on her face, working hard to build her a snowman.
The pleasant day started to fall apart the moment he called her to come see it. Seles's mother had wanted Zelos dead so that his half-sister, Seles, could become the new Chosen One. From her hiding place in the bushes, she couldn't see well enough to aim properly, and the crossfire struck Zelos's mother just as she stepped up to see the snowman. As she fell, she grabbed Zelos's shoulder and told him "You should never have been born".
On that night, his life was completely transformed. The half-elf woman was executed for crimes against the Chosen, and Seles was sentenced to live under house arrest in an Abbey. Because it was a half-elf that murdered his mother, coupled with the negative view through which society already perceived them, this was when he began to hate the race as a whole. Still, it didn't stop him from visiting Seles often-- he even left his Cruxis Crystal (the crystal he was born with that solidifies his status as the Chosen One) with her. Zelos himself disapproved of the arrangements, but he was incapable of changing them.
He grew up, in all appearances, to become a hopeless womanizer with no sense of responsibility.
Eventually, it came time for the Chosen in Sylvarant to begin her journey of regeneration. Tethe'alla, having been aware of the true connection between the worlds thanks to knowledge shared by a group called the Renegades, sent a girl from the village of Mizuho, Sheena Fujibayahi (also a long time acquaintance of Zelos), to assassinate her, thereby granting Tethe'alla the chance to prosper for a while longer.
Instead, she ended up joining with them in hopes of reaching a compromise-- Colette, Sylvarant's Chosen, was losing her humanity in the journey. Apparently, it was all part of the 'angel transformation'-- what happens to the Chosen One as the journey progresses and they unlock more seals. This was something Zelos hadn't been aware of, and also something which he had no desire to experience.
When the group from Sylvarant arrived, they were lead by a boy named Lloyd. Wasting no time in telling Colette (whom was in something of a mindless state at the time) that she'd be cute as a button when she smiles, he waved them off and went about his business. It wasn't until they were meeting with the king that things got more interesting. Zelos was assigned to keep tabs on them-- not just by the king, but by another group know as the Renegades as well.
Luckily for Lloyd's group, the Renegades were the ones he decided to side with in the end, meaning that he became something of a 'criminal' in the eyes of the king and the Pope, helping Sylvarant's Chosen in regaining her humanity.
Zelos dropped many suspicious hints along the way, such as 'accidentally' leading them into a trap, and vanishing inside an enemy fortress for a time without explanation. This is because he is working as not a double agent, but a triple agent. In addition to Lloyd's group and the Renegades, he also had a deal with Cruxis-- they had agreed to free him from his duties as the Chosen if he helped them.
Over time, they were successful in not only saving Colette, but in uncovering the true connection between the worlds, realizing that the only way to save both worlds would be to forge pacts with the summon spirits in both worlds. Each Sylvarant spirit was connected by a mana link to another in Tethe'alla. No two spirits ought to be awake at the same time, else the mana cannot flow from on to the other, effectively severing the link.
This journey was interrupted at a point when a dwarf that had helped them, Altessa, was wounded. The party traveled to the snowy city of Flanoir to seek a doctor, and that night, Zelos invited Lloyd for a walk, telling him the story of his mother's death, and giving his friend his Cruxis Crystal the next morning alongside a letter.
As Altessa was recoving, they then decided to infiltrate the Tower of Salvation-- the place that would provide their only entrance into Cruxis. Zelos convinced Lloyd to take Colette along, seemingly because he believed it was the right thing to do. In actuality, he planned to hand her over to the enemy in a feat 'betray' his friends. He couldn't tell them at the time, but he was working for Kratos (Lloyd's dad, and an angel of Cruxis), fulfilling his request of obtaining Aionis, which Lloyd would need in order to wield the eternal sword. This was the sword they required in order to merge the two worlds, but still could not be used without first making a pact with the summon spirit, Origin.
As they were leaving for the Tower, Lloyd told Zelos "I trust you"-- exactly what he needed to hear. He then led Colette into the trap, vanishing with Pronyma.
However, as his friends fell into dangerous traps one by one, he set them free, rejoining Lloyd at the end and announcing his intention to double-cross Mithos Yggdrasill, the four thousand year old leader of Cruxis. He cited the reason: because the title of the Chosen One won't matter anyway once they kick his ass. It was a close escape from the Tower, but an escape nonetheless, their next destination becoming the elf-village of Heimdall. Here resided the spirit Origin, whom they needed to create the pact with.
That night, Zelos spoke with Lloyd again, making it clear that Kratos's treatment of his own son really pissed him off. Lloyd didn't seem too bothered by Kratos's actions, again proving to be an idealist. He told Zelos that, after the journey, he planned to go on another one, this time to collect all the exspheres in the world and destroy them. Since exspheres were human lives in a sense, Zelos saw no problem with this plan-- as a matter of fact, he told Lloyd that he'd tag along.
Events at the seal didn't go over too smoothly either, as Lloyd had to fight his father in order to break it. Kratos nearly died releasing the seal (only to be saved by Yuan, leader of the Renegades), and they were finally successful in creating the pact. Things were looking up-- that is, until the exsphere Genis was holding (a gift from his friend Mithos back when he was disguising himself as a young half-elf), began to glow. Mithos was able to use it to possess someone, the one he had in mind being Lloyd himself. Zelos grabbed the exsphere from him before Mithos had the chance, ending up as the one possessed in Lloyd's place.
Mithos was in for a nasty surprise. Just as Lloyd reached him (the rest of the party had fallen into a trap), Zelos shook off the control-- although he couldn't manage to remove the exsphere. Now all that was left was rescuing the rest of their friends, and finishing Yggdrasill off for good. Yggdrasill's ideal world, the world he was so fixated on gaining, was a world wherein nobody had their own sense of self-- mindless puppets with no personality.
As a group, they made it through Vinheim, now one warp space away from the final battle with Mithos.
More info here if required
[character abilities]:
Zelos is a Magic Swordsman, meaning that he mixes magical abilities (such as fire or lightning properties) with his sword techniques. He performs healing arts, as well as magical spells.
In addition, some of his reflexes have been enhanced via expheres, giving him alternate abilities depending on which skills he chooses to use. And if you feel like getting fourth-wally, every woman he talks to gets the strong desire to give him their stuff. 8|
[character personality]:
"Now, now, settle down, my darling hunnies! ♥"
Despite how he acts on the surface, Zelos has a personality that can be extremely hard to pin. Anyone's first impression of him is that he is an immature, walking libido-- and a pretty shallow one. He flirts with almost every woman in sight, though he does have boundaries with age (so he'll tell them to come find him in ten years instead). Still, he's more for the charm and less for the action, knowing that they don't really care about him. He claims that he only wants to have a good time and is constantly joking around (even lying to others for his own amusement), rarely the type to take a situation seriously.
The truth of the matter is that he acts this way because he wants to live the 'fun, easy life'-- even when he knows he never will because his life only has worth as the 'Chosen One', not as 'Zelos Wilder'. He lacks his sense of identity and seeks to get it back by acting like nothing exists to suppress it in the first place. Under the circumstances he grew up in, he's been led to develop a sense of self-loathing and worthlessness, closing up to the people around him, and using his own personality as a means of detecting the people that really care about him in a world where people only wanted to be associated with him because of his title and standing. His mother even told him as she lay dying that he should never have been born, which were words he took to heart at a young age.
"I know that they're normal people, just like you and me. But that's what discrimination is about. Knowing that, and still not being able to shake that feeling..."
However, he isn't incapable of being serious, and there's no doubt that he isn't nearly as stupid as he acts. Zelos actually has a knack for manipulating others simply by allowing them to underestimate him. It's as though he's waiting for someone to see through him, and is often taken for granted even when he does speak his mind. If he thinks someone is being an idiot, he'll tell them he thinks they're being an idiot. This makes him come across as blunt and uncaring, despite the fact that his words are often the pure, non-sugarcoated truth.
Zelos wouldn't leave someone hanging if he saw them giving it their all-- but he wouldn't go out of his way and do the work for them either. He'd rather give them the opportunity to do it on their own, thereby allowing them to learn from what was once a difficult situation. He can rationalize, and over time has come to accept most of his own faults because of both this, and the trust his friends had in him. Due to that last point, he even began to overcome some of his hatred towards half-elves.
"Damn! I must be a genius!"
Another point worth mentioning about Zelos is that he acts very narcissistic. Often, he serves as the comic relief within his group of friends due to this very reason-- he'll either be stunned upon hearing that someone disagrees with his self-flattering views, or he'll tell them not to be jealous, giving the illusion of an ego so inflated that he hardly noticed he was being insulted.
On top of that, he tends to live by the motto 'whatever will be, will be', with a preference to sit back, relax, and just let things run their course. His mind can change with the right persuasion, but there was once a time when Zelos wouldn't have hesitated to take the easy way out and side with the strongest. It didn't make him a coward in the typical sense- he's strong, unshakingly devoted to those that manage to get close to him, and a genuinely good person. At the time, what it made him was a moral coward that didn't know how to deal with his own problems, such as guilt over his mother's death and his half-sister's fate because of it. Luckily, the brunt of it is in the past.
"Me? You want me to carry this ogre by myself? Are you kidding me?"
He is a bit selfish, looking out for himself first and foremost, but this is again due to his past trust issues-- with the exception of someone that he truly considers an enemy, he wouldn't abandon a person in need.
Believe it or not, what reveals a more sensitive side of Zelos is his younger half-sister, Seles. He cares greatly for her, to the point where he actually seems rather protective. Since it was often said that Seles would have been a greater Chosen had Zelos been killed all those years ago, they had a rocky relationship on the surface, most of which they've managed to work out.
Finally, what may seem strange for someone like Zelos is that he has the keen ability to detect the feelings of those around him. He'll normally act as observant as a brick, yet that's only because his efforts to cheer someone up come across as obnoxious. When Sheena was distraught once, for example, it was Zelos that realized they shouldn't be walking on eggshells around her because of how that might make her feel as a result. He tries to remain lighthearted to avoid putting more weight on an already heavy situation.
He has these surprising displays of insight and motivation, aspects that throw people off because they're never expected from him. Of course, he still manages to live up to their expectations when breasts are involved.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: From the end of Tales of Symphonia (the first game), just before taking the warp square to go face off against Mithos.
[journal post]:
Whoa, whoa, whoa, am I missing something, or am I missing something? Guys? Yo, Lloyd! [Well, clearly there are no signs of the rest of the group--] Damn it.
Huh. I don't know what's going on here, but this is so starting to feel like me getting screwed over somehow.
Oh, by the way? On the screwed over part? I think you-- whoever you are-- could've picked a better time to try messin' with me. I mean, what kind of ass yanks a guy out of the picture right when he's en route to a sure victory? Unless Yggdrassill was the one who Not that I doubt the rest of them or anything, but it miiight help with beating the snot outta that Mithos kid if I was there to lead the show, m'kay. Call it an intuitive guess.
Man...
[third person / log sample]:
Whatever will be, will be.
It wasn't just a motto for Zelos, it was the basis for nearly every decision he'd ever made. When in doubt, choose the side more likely to win. Don't waste time wondering what'll happen to the losing side afterward-- just let things play out on their own. What happens, happens. Concern over the outcome had never been a problem of his, even from a position of wealth and prestige. Hell, he was used to getting everything he ever wanted, no questions asked. And the sad, sad part was that he never cared. Zelos Wilder, the worthless Chosen who would never save the world.
Too bad his nature was taking one serious kick. For once, the redheaded Chosen was actually worried. He had friends that put their trust in him, he had motivation, and he had the determination to do something with it. So this? This was a really crappy setback.
Not only was this freaky city bigger than Meltokio, he'd been wandering its streets for hours. Not minutes. Hours. Shops, bars, and beautiful little ladies aside, he couldn't seem to find anything to indicate one way or the other which of the two worlds he was in. Nothing was characteristic of Tethe'alla, but nothing was characteristic of Sylvarant either. At least, no corner of Sylvarant that he'd seen in the time he spent there. Sylvarant didn't have amusement parks, for one thing. And just how loud was that monster of a clock? He couldn't see one, but he heard the ticking all the same.
"I swear, it's enough to drive a guy out of his mind," he actually yawned, feigning boredom as best he could in order to avoid too many stares. Attention, he could do. Just not right now when he didn't feel like getting caught while he was totally out of it.
It wasn't just the scenery, either. Calling a city The City was about as unoriginal as you can get. How about the Grand Central Capital? All the initial blandness with a twist of creativity. Even the vague, passing thought brought up the question of where the City was located. He'd have to be pretty damn stupid to believe half of what he'd heard.
All this time trying to figure out where he was, while the rest of the guys were probably already through with Mithos. Zelos had no way of knowing the outcome, but thinking that they'd lost was one thing he outright refused to do. Idealism: not his strong suit, yet still something he was starting to pick up on-- it probably leeched over from spending all that time with Lloyd and them. If you can't know something for sure, then wondering about it won't change it any. But assuming the worst? That won't either. He'd rather think about them kicking the twerp to the curb and call in an apology for his detour once he got back.
A sigh.
Things always had to get complicated, didn't they? This kind of emotional conflict was the type he always did his best to avoid.
"And y'know, even if there weren't any weird sounds, this place would still piss me off," as if stating the obvious would make a difference. Luckily, nobody was close enough to hear. One of the first times he actually wanted to be ignored-- not for long, of course. Only long enough for him to know what he was looking for before he asked about it. That lead right into the other thing Zelos wanted-- he wanted to believe his first reaction, that this was a trick of Mithos'.
Too bad it was all too vivid. He shook his head, blinking slowly at what appeared to be a bakery. Somehow he'd managed to zone out, the ghost of tight-jawed frustration surfacing briefly. Must've been all that deep thinking-- never a great idea to distract yourself when you're lost already, huh?
"Didn't I just walk by that buil--" Yeah, no contest. He definitely just walked by it. There was no way any two different shops would look so much alike. "Oh, okay. This is officially depressing now."
Looks like his first stop was decided for him. When looking on your own fails, get a tour guide. Much as he enjoyed the sound of his own voice, it obviously wasn't about to start spewing out directions.