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professor_tammiMe doing Day 4 along with Day 13 looks a little odd at first, but the question for day 13 is "which character do you relate with the most, and why?", and considering that my favorite characters are almost always also the ones I relate to the most, well. These two questions might as well be the same to me. Also, I'm going to pick one favorite from FE7, FE8, and FE9/10 - this is because I'd like to vary my answers some more. Constantly ranting about the same characters might get old a little too quickly, and I'm not really creative enough to write long and awesome headcanon posts (though I wish I was).
FE7: Serra
I actually had some trouble deciding between Louise and Serra here, but in the end I went with Serra because I feel there's more to discuss about her.
So! Serra. Actually, I don't usually care much for the "cheerful girl with a ~hidden tragic past~"-type of character, but I think one of the main reasons I enjoyed Serra was her execution, which was very well handled. On the other hand, Serra is also part an archetype I do like; comedic relief (yes, yes, I'm shallow I can't help it). In spite of being introduced as a rather goofy, silly person, though, she later subverts your expectations, and ends up being much more than that. And to be honest, seeing the way traumatized people deal with covering up their troubling pasts is almost always interesting to me. Most people do occasionally put on facades, for better or for worse, and imo it just adds realism to Serra's character.
Speaking of realism, this is one of those times I can say I am genuinely glad that a character has flaws. It's easy to see why Serra's constant babbling would be considered annoying by the other characters. Heck, if I were in their situation, I'd most likely react in the same way. Her overly outgoing, attention-hogging personality is a cover of sorts, however, which is something people wouldn't notice at first (as seen in all of her supports). It makes her eventual breakdowns all the more heartbreaking. And... while this isn't exactly a particularly deep observation, I do think that these "layers" make her more interesting, and it's a really good way of giving a character flaws while still keeping them likable.
I've mentioned that I relate to most of my favorite characters, which is somewhat true in Serra's case. In particular, I can understand exactly why she appears to hold herself in such a high regard; because I've dealt with low self-esteem issues in exactly the same way before. I'm not sure if this interpretation of her character makes any sense, but I've found that telling yourself you're amazing at things - at doing everything - and in more extreme cases belittling others is actually not an uncommon way to make yourself feel better about who you are. Feel more meaningful. Which is probably pretty sad, given that this entire idea centers on lying to yourself, but. Given Serra's past, I wouldn't put it past her(okay that is a terrible pun, I'm sorry), and I think it would be interesting, so that's why I've chosen this interpretation.
FE8: Lute
It's kind of hard to dislike Lute, really. She might be one of the most unique characters in the entire series - noone else really has that kind of blunt, straightforward eccentric bookworm-kind of personality. And when it comes down to it, Lute's personality is really the biggest reason I like her so much.
She's a fairly popular character, which is rather unsurprising considering that she's from a video game. Most gamers are rather nerdy (which is a good thing. I love nerds!). It goes without saying, then, that the somewhat socially inept genius would appeal to the target demographic. As such, she's definitely easy to relate to. Not just for me, but for many others as well. My love for her is only amplified by her honesty and intelligence (as both of these are traits I love).
On the flipside, I think the main problem with Lute isn't her as a character, but rather the characters she interacts with. I wasn't overly fascinated by most of them, so I'm left feeling a little disappointed with her supports/friendships. Still, this is really the only complaint I can think of. Other than that, nothing comes to mind. ♥
(Also, I can totally relate to her stalking tendencies. Seriously I stalk everyone I think I must have some kind of stalking problem)
FE9/10: Soren
I almost picked someone else, actually, because there are several characters I love in the Tellius games whom I rarely see get discussed at all, but... in all honesty, Soren is definitely my favorite. Overly popular, perhaps, which is why I thought it might be nice to write about someone else, but nope. I'm already being overly loose in my interpretations of the meme's questions, so I felt like actually just answering it like any normal person would for once! (But with extra tl;dr-ing because that's just what I do.)
First of all, I actually like his "snarky jerkass"-personality. It's for similar reasons that I enjoy characters like Shinon. I'm sure one of the reasons I find this so interesting is because of the contrasting personalities between them and the rest of the Greil Mercenaries, who are very idealistic and cheerful by comparison. They add some much-needed cynicism to the main cast, which is something I appreciate. Variety is always nice!
Some more general reasons, would be his other traits - much like with Lute, I admire his honestly and intelligence. I even love the ones which could be perceived more negatively, like his jealousy and manipulativeness. But since I've already discussed some of this in my "favorite parings"-answer (and also I'm really tired and it's late), I'll just cut to the primary reason I feel it's so easy to relate to Soren.
His co-dependency issues. I've been there. I used to have the same problem. I had a person I would constantly put up on a pedestal, someone I promised myself I'd devote my entire life to. The most interesting thing about all of this? It didn't happen because he saved my life, or even did anything particularly significant. It happened because he talked to me when I had nobody else to speak to. That's all - just talking. That was enough. And that's why, when I watched the Soren base conversation in RD, this line really struck a chord with me:
"I was happy, too. Not just because I wasn't hungry anymore. Because someone finally would talk to me."
I don't think I'm anywhere near as strong as Soren is, because I just couldn't stand living with the constant depression co-dependency brought with it. Being away from someone for as short a time as one single day is enough to make you feel awful. This is why I greatly admire Soren; I don't really know how he manages it, but he's been completely devoted to Ike for almost the entirety of his life. That's not something I could ever do.
Admittedly, these are some rather personal reasons for liking a fictional character, but they're why I love him so much and I felt I should be honest about it. Though it does make me rather curious - do his other fans have similar reasons? I've never really seen anyone talk about it, which is understandable, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people went through the same thing at some point in their lives.
Depressing personal experiences aside, though, I really should learn how to write shorter texts. Because what. I think they're pretty much impossible to read at this point.
FE7: Serra
I actually had some trouble deciding between Louise and Serra here, but in the end I went with Serra because I feel there's more to discuss about her.
So! Serra. Actually, I don't usually care much for the "cheerful girl with a ~hidden tragic past~"-type of character, but I think one of the main reasons I enjoyed Serra was her execution, which was very well handled. On the other hand, Serra is also part an archetype I do like; comedic relief (yes, yes, I'm shallow I can't help it). In spite of being introduced as a rather goofy, silly person, though, she later subverts your expectations, and ends up being much more than that. And to be honest, seeing the way traumatized people deal with covering up their troubling pasts is almost always interesting to me. Most people do occasionally put on facades, for better or for worse, and imo it just adds realism to Serra's character.
Speaking of realism, this is one of those times I can say I am genuinely glad that a character has flaws. It's easy to see why Serra's constant babbling would be considered annoying by the other characters. Heck, if I were in their situation, I'd most likely react in the same way. Her overly outgoing, attention-hogging personality is a cover of sorts, however, which is something people wouldn't notice at first (as seen in all of her supports). It makes her eventual breakdowns all the more heartbreaking. And... while this isn't exactly a particularly deep observation, I do think that these "layers" make her more interesting, and it's a really good way of giving a character flaws while still keeping them likable.
I've mentioned that I relate to most of my favorite characters, which is somewhat true in Serra's case. In particular, I can understand exactly why she appears to hold herself in such a high regard; because I've dealt with low self-esteem issues in exactly the same way before. I'm not sure if this interpretation of her character makes any sense, but I've found that telling yourself you're amazing at things - at doing everything - and in more extreme cases belittling others is actually not an uncommon way to make yourself feel better about who you are. Feel more meaningful. Which is probably pretty sad, given that this entire idea centers on lying to yourself, but. Given Serra's past, I wouldn't put it past her
FE8: Lute
It's kind of hard to dislike Lute, really. She might be one of the most unique characters in the entire series - noone else really has that kind of blunt, straightforward eccentric bookworm-kind of personality. And when it comes down to it, Lute's personality is really the biggest reason I like her so much.
She's a fairly popular character, which is rather unsurprising considering that she's from a video game. Most gamers are rather nerdy (which is a good thing. I love nerds!). It goes without saying, then, that the somewhat socially inept genius would appeal to the target demographic. As such, she's definitely easy to relate to. Not just for me, but for many others as well. My love for her is only amplified by her honesty and intelligence (as both of these are traits I love).
On the flipside, I think the main problem with Lute isn't her as a character, but rather the characters she interacts with. I wasn't overly fascinated by most of them, so I'm left feeling a little disappointed with her supports/friendships. Still, this is really the only complaint I can think of. Other than that, nothing comes to mind. ♥
(Also, I can totally relate to her stalking tendencies. Seriously I stalk everyone I think I must have some kind of stalking problem)
FE9/10: Soren
I almost picked someone else, actually, because there are several characters I love in the Tellius games whom I rarely see get discussed at all, but... in all honesty, Soren is definitely my favorite. Overly popular, perhaps, which is why I thought it might be nice to write about someone else, but nope. I'm already being overly loose in my interpretations of the meme's questions, so I felt like actually just answering it like any normal person would for once! (But with extra tl;dr-ing because that's just what I do.)
First of all, I actually like his "snarky jerkass"-personality. It's for similar reasons that I enjoy characters like Shinon. I'm sure one of the reasons I find this so interesting is because of the contrasting personalities between them and the rest of the Greil Mercenaries, who are very idealistic and cheerful by comparison. They add some much-needed cynicism to the main cast, which is something I appreciate. Variety is always nice!
Some more general reasons, would be his other traits - much like with Lute, I admire his honestly and intelligence. I even love the ones which could be perceived more negatively, like his jealousy and manipulativeness. But since I've already discussed some of this in my "favorite parings"-answer (and also I'm really tired and it's late), I'll just cut to the primary reason I feel it's so easy to relate to Soren.
His co-dependency issues. I've been there. I used to have the same problem. I had a person I would constantly put up on a pedestal, someone I promised myself I'd devote my entire life to. The most interesting thing about all of this? It didn't happen because he saved my life, or even did anything particularly significant. It happened because he talked to me when I had nobody else to speak to. That's all - just talking. That was enough. And that's why, when I watched the Soren base conversation in RD, this line really struck a chord with me:
"I was happy, too. Not just because I wasn't hungry anymore. Because someone finally would talk to me."
I don't think I'm anywhere near as strong as Soren is, because I just couldn't stand living with the constant depression co-dependency brought with it. Being away from someone for as short a time as one single day is enough to make you feel awful. This is why I greatly admire Soren; I don't really know how he manages it, but he's been completely devoted to Ike for almost the entirety of his life. That's not something I could ever do.
Admittedly, these are some rather personal reasons for liking a fictional character, but they're why I love him so much and I felt I should be honest about it. Though it does make me rather curious - do his other fans have similar reasons? I've never really seen anyone talk about it, which is understandable, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people went through the same thing at some point in their lives.
Depressing personal experiences aside, though, I really should learn how to write shorter texts. Because what. I think they're pretty much impossible to read at this point.
