1. The first character I first fell in love with
At first I thought this one might be difficult, but for FFXIII, not an issue. Hands down - Lightning. I’m a sucker for strong female characters. She was a fighter first, but was a good healer when needed, so it wasn’t like “Oh, we’re making her the anti-female character.” No, she adapted as was needed and was incredibly crafty and driven. Also, I loved that she didn’t have a really high pitched voice like so many other female characters in anime and games wind up with. And then the game progresses and she has so much character development.
2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now
Hope, absolutely Hope. My husband and I shared our hatred of Hope at the beginning of the game. I mean, I didn’t fault him for the way he behaved. It made sense that an average 14 year old boy who just lost his mother flipped like that. And then he turned around and got focused. And then XIII-2 happened.
3. The character everyone else loves that I don’t
Oo, I don’t really know. I do love all the main characters. The game had a fantastic Cid, and I adored NORA, Lt. Almodar and Bartholomew. Jihl was another great minor villain. So I think I’m gong to cheat and go to XIII-2 for this one. I am not a fan of Yeul. I think her character fell really flat and even before the Lightning DLC, I didn’t trust her.
4. The character I love that everyone else hates
I think that’s sort of tough because in the Final Fantasy fandom, there are rabid fangirls of every character. For all the years I’ve spent in the fandom, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a character not get some love somewhere. That said, I’m going to go with Snow. Snow gets a lot of hate because he’s such a sweet guy. A little dopey sometimes, but really well meaning.
5. The character I used to love but don’t any longer
Umm, I don’t think that actually applies to any of them. If anything, the more I stay in the fandom and I replay the game, I love them more. Although there was a lot of characterization that they beat you over the head with, there were some nuances that I think people miss. As a writer, I adore that.
6. The character I would totally smooch
Fang. Hands down. Lightning or Snow would be second. And if we’re talking XIII-2, Hope wins over all of them.
7. The character I’d want to be like
Lightning because for the most part, she is so sure of herself. Once she’s made a decision, she exudes this confidence that I envy. It’s been something that I’ve been working on forever, and at least people who don’t know me don’t realize my lack of confidence (like at work), but man, she makes it seem so effortless.
8. The character I’d slap
Vanille. Come on Vanille, stop running and hiding things.
9. A pairing that I love
I’m a sucker for Snow/Serah. It’s actually really funny because in XIII-2, I normally would have shipped Noel/Serah because of their chemistry. If I had played XIII-2 first, I would ship them. But because of that strong love that was established between Snow & Serah in the first game, I can’t do anything but. I just want them to finally be together again in LR. And if this is going into XIII-2, then Hope/Lightning because the feels!
10. A pairing that I despise
I’m not one to hate on pairings. If someone ships a couple I don’t, I just shrug and and move on. I like open conversations about ships. And I’ll read just about any ship. It’s part of why I love Dragon Age so much. That said, incest kind of weirds me out. So I’ll count Serah/Lightning for this, but I still think despise is too strong of a word.
