Application

[laodicean]

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Caprica
Contact: PM, or caprican
Age: 20s
Current Characters: Ariel, from Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'.


⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Laphicet
Age: Ten years old
Canon: Tales of Berseria
Canon Point: When Eleanor joins the party after becoming his vessel

Background: Here for a translation of his entry in the World Guidance book for Berseria.

And here for a history I typed up as well.

Personality:

A lot of Laphicet's personality stems from his learning, his curiosity, and enthusiasm for life in general. After he had been sacrificed along with Celica while she was pregnant with him, he was reborn as a malak. Prior to travelling with Velvet, he was with the Exorcists who restricted his free will and emotions. Up until then, he never paid much, if any, attention to his surroundings and was never encouraged to show his emotions or to speak up. This rather sets the scene for his reactions to everything to come as the game goes on from there.

Laphicet initially seems confused at the concept of having a will and emotions of his own, or understanding the emotions of others. This is shown in his confusion over why he seems to pity Magilou in one particular skit when she says the reason she stays with the party is that she has nowhere else to return to. Another one of them explain the concept of pity to Laphicet, which helps him to understand that he feels sorry for her, helping him better understand his own emotions. This ends up being something he works on throughout the game - learning more about the idea of having free will, being free to make his own choices, to learn more of other people's emotions, and how to respond to them.

His relationship with Magilou, however, is not his main relationship. That would be Velvet. He feels an instinctive obedience and attachment towards Velvet, that leads him to rebel against the Exorcists when they order him to defeat her and then blow himself up. And this is huge, since his relationship with her is a core part of the game itself and his development which stems directly from his time with her. Velvet's reassurance and encouragement to do what he wants rather than what he is ordered to do changes him, and gives him the courage to speak up when he is upset or curious about something, or when he's in danger of being attacked.

This leads in to the concept of defending himself, and of speaking up when this is about to happen. This is pressed to him from Velvet after a monster attacks him and he barely seems to react. The reason for this is that she had told him earlier not to say anything unnecessary, and he had simply been following that order. She's angry at him for this, claiming that being in danger is an exception. From this, he learns that there are times he should speak up, learning to gain a sense of self preservation from her emotional outburst at almost losing him.
In this, Velvet is shown to soften over time to encourage him to speak his mind, to act on those emotions that draw him to things such as his excitement over the compass. It's something he works on over time, the idea of being able to speak up, and the idea that he is important. That he is not so expendable as with the Exorcists that order their malakhim to blow themselves up to defeat an enemy. He learns this because Velvet and the rest of the party value and care about him. This is notable given Velvet is shown to soften the most around Laphicet in particular out of anyone in their group throughout the game, even if they all bond during the events of it.

There's also the idea of him having selfish moments, which could also be attributed to his time with Velvet and her influence on him. This is shown in one example when he takes over Eleanor's body in order to help him defend his friends. This is something he feels bad about, something he knows is wrong and apologizes for. However, he is grateful when she doesn't out him to Velvet when the other questions what happened. But the fact remains he was selfish enough to take advantage of his ability to freeze or control Eleanor's body through their link in her being his vessel. And that he did this even though he knew that if she died, he would suffer as a result since she is his vessel.

Speaking of, Laphicet is shown to be bashful and respectful when dealing with Eleanor. Particularly in the spa/bath scene when he covers his eyes to avoid seeing them naked as one rather memorable example of this. There's also another example in his talking to Bienfu about any books that might help him better understand Eleanor, since Laphicet is not human. Except these particular books are more....well, books on advice on how to pick up women and flirt with them, which isn't exactly what Laphicet is after. Suffice to say, Laphicet doesn't go on to read these.

On the flipside are moments where his curiosity in combination with his naivety, does get the better of him, given his age. This is shown in a particular skit where he is curious about Magilou's skirt, since it is made from a collection of books. Laphicet was not even considering the potential implications or indecency of asking her about them or having her show him the books in question. Again, this is probably due to his age that he didn't realize how it probably looked to the others, who quickly put a stop to Magilou's explanations.

This naivety really comes into play with some skits involving Laphicet with either/both Rokurou and Eizen. In one particular skit they discuss being famous...or more like infamous for their actions, in regards to having Wanted posters. Laphicet is naturally curious and excited about the idea of having one himself, given the way Eizen and Rokurou talk about theirs. This could be attributed to his age and the company he keeps that he doesn't see that having one is not necessarily normal or a good thing. Suffice to say, there are reasons many would assume the others in the group (excluding perhaps Eleanor) are something of a questionable influence on the young boy.

This leads in to Laphicet finding something positive about most everyone, which is shown in one skit where he is seen arguing with Bienfu over a preference between Eleanor or Velvet. This is especially evident in the way he argues in Velvet's defense against Bienfu's bias towards Eleanor. Which is amusing given how much kinder Velvet is in her interactions with Laphicet in comparison to her interactions with Bienfu or any of the rest of the party. It is also shown in his interactions with almost everyone he meets throughout the game as well, in his being willing to listen or to offer to help others they meet along the way where he can. Laphicet has a particular side quest where he wants to help a young boy at one of the towns gather some ingredients, which ends up being an old recipe for a cure for the Twelve Year Sickness. Laphicet had no real obligation to do this, he did it because he wanted to help. He wanted to help because he had bonded with this boy over their shared love of books, of translating old languages.

This is not to say that he doesn't voice up if he is upset or mad about something. He does speak up when he feels Velvet keeps comparing him to her brother, for example. He tells her that he is his own person and has his own interests and past. This is quite a defining moment for him because prior to this he doesn't really speak up about anything negative. It shows that he is getting comfortable enough with her and the group in general to be able to be confident in speaking up like this. Which is just what Velvet keeps telling him to do - to speak his mind. Another prime example of this is when he calls her out on her whining at one point, telling her he wasn't going to give up on her. In this, he shows empathy in acknowledging her pain but also in how stubborn he can be. Because Velvet is too important to him to consider giving up on her at this point, after everything that they had been through together.

Which kind of ties in to another trait of his, in that Laphicet is self-sacrificing. This is shown in his protectiveness of Velvet, when he refuses to kill her under Teresa's orders, who Laphicet surprises in his willingness to defy an order. Let alone to risk himself for a daemon, the very beings that threaten their home and that he used to fight against without a second thought. Another example is his solo fight against Innominat, who he goes up against in order to leave the others to take care of another opponent. More obvious is at the end of the game where he offers himself to be the new Empyrean in order to help keep the balance with the rest. This also provides a way for him to offer the world a second chance, in using his ability to wield the Silver Flame to cure the daemonblight and restore the therions to their human forms. This is in spite of Velvet's desire for him to live, with her explicitly telling him to.

As a last note of his general interests, Laphicet likes to read, particularly once he gets help in translating some older tomes. Another favourite activity would actually be eating, though he doesn't strictly need to do so as a malak. His favourite recipe is mabo curry, specifically the kind made at the tavern in the capital. The other big fascination of his is bugs, shown in his caring for one he finds, feeding it every night.

Abilities:

Malak/Seraphim - Laphicet is what is known as a malak or seraph (seraph specifically a term used later in Zestiria's timeline, but refers to the same thing). This means that he is not usually able to be seen or heard by humans unless they have a particularly strong resonance. This also means he is easily influenced by what is known as Malevolence, which is part of the reason it can be beneficial for a malak to have a human vessel in order to help from this being overwhelming to them. This can also extend towards particular artes being utilized in suppressing a malak's will by their vessel in order to control them and order them in battle, and use them, sort of fusing with the malak in a then experimental (in Berseria) arte known as the armatus. An armatus means the humans can fuse with their malak/seraph and use their artes themselves, without needing to give orders. Though this is risky, in Berseria's timeline given how new it is.

Battle - Essentially, Laphicet is able to use what is known as 'seraphic artes' in Zestiria, which means artes that are tied to elemental magic or 'artes' based on his being a seraph/malak. In regards to fighting this means using these offensively against opponents in attacks in using his favored weapon - ofuda, as well as healing artes. Laphicet tends to be best at range and throwing his paper sheets at the enemy when casting his artes against them.

At times when casting, he sort of levitates but I wouldn't go so far as to say this means he can just fly around everywhere, since this is only shown in battle and not outside of him fighting. Even when healing outside of battle, in other cutscenes he doesn't levitate then.

He's really best with recovery in using his healing artes to keep up the parties hp (or health, for a better term), buffs in using his artes to support others in the party during battles, and taking advantage of elemental weaknesses in enemies, essentially. Since all enemies usually have a certain weakness or a few that can be utilized against them by the player using artes with those specific elements or specific arte types to increase the amount of damage against opponents.

There's a list of his artes here in his wiki. And here is a youtube clip from the Japanese footage showcasing said artes.

Purification - Another thing to note around Laphicet in particular is due to his connection to being sacrificed towards awakening Innominat, he shares the same sort of power in regards to being able to purify Malevolence, what he calls the Silver Flames. Earlier on in canon, he can't quite purposely control it, not until he becomes an Empyrean himself at the end of the game, though.



Alignment: Peromei: despair and hope.

Hope is a huge theme for Laphicet, as he is freed from being tethered to Teresa and finally able to live life himself without such restrictions, without being ordered to follow any Exorcist. This is shown in his love of the sea, the possibilities of such travel and exploration, and in his desire in offering himself to become the new Empyrean in granting his Flames of Purification to give everyone a second chance to start over.

Other:

Ah, I've discussed the malakhim/seraphim visibility/hearing thing regarding who would likely see/hear Laphicet with current Zestiria cast and I think it's those in the same alignment should manage to see and hear Laphicet fine and I'll put up a post regarding that information/permissions once he gets in? And in general probably make that easier to see/hear him as characters gain cr if they might have trouble with it initially?


⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉

General Sample: Test Drive

Emotion Sample: here on the test drive with Magilou.


Questions: