Fun Factor Around Story and Lore - Favorite Characters, Favorite Lore

[Vyrerus]

So heavy a thread as the other I made needs a counterbalance. I also feel like we could use more threads where the point is to engage specifically in discussion centered around the fun we are having with the game, its story, its music, and all other facets.

We spend a lot of time hung up on details that we are powerless to change, so here I'd like to ask for your favorite lore, characters, and any ways that they interact. Be they villain, be they hero. Be it side quest or main quest.

What's your favorite lore? Who is your favorite character?

My favorite character is Alisaie. She is headstrong, takes fall damage optionally, and slotted into one of my favorite jobs come Stormblood. I enjoy her sibling interactions with Alphinaud as they feel genuine, and I like her Roleplay battle kit. I find her idolization of the WoL endearing, and I smile whenever she's on screen. My favorite scene with her this expansion was having coffee by the docks and solving the next leg of that first Sharlayan branch.

In Shadowbringers it was her being the first to launch herself against Emet-selch.

In Stormblood, it was the first fight against Zenos. She and Pipin also engaged him with the WoL and were pushed back by his Concentravitity.

HW it was the WoD fight, ARR it was Coils obviously.

My favorite Lore in the game is harder to pick, but so far I think it's the fact that the Allagans had elite training programs based off the Warring Triad, and they cloned anyone who could defeat the programs. It echoes of X-men's danger room scenarios, and of course, requires the sidequests that involve Y'shtola, Urianger, Krile, and Unukulhai along with Regula van Hydrus for the initial defeat of the actual Warring Triad. Of course, it ties into my favorite FF in the series, VI, which is the main reason for my tastes.

Who/what/why are your favorites?

[Ayuhra]

My favorite lore is the Ascians and my favorite character is probably Emet-Selch but I'm going to say it's Fandaniel.

I don't want to drop spoilers all over the forum but as we deep-dove into his whole...deal...in Endwalker it had the intended affect on me.

Clownish bad rogue Ascian is a good character. 10/10, gave me depression.

[Vyrerus]

My favorite lore is the Ascians and my favorite character is probably Emet-Selch but I'm going to say it's Fandaniel.

I don't want to drop spoilers all over the forum but as we deep-dove into his whole...deal...in Endwalker it had the intended affect on me.

Clownish bad rogue Ascian is a good character. 10/10, gave me depression.

You can use the tags [HB ][ /HB] without the spaces to put what you'd like to share under spoiler tags.

[RyuDragnier]

Favorite Lore would be on the past of the IVth Legion. Lore that shows a group that not only fought heavily to conquer their opponents, but willing to seek the help of others from their own territories and other Legions. Not to mention their goals, while lofty, are ones you can't help but sympathize with and lead to a unique part of the Imperial Legions, one none of the others (so far) have managed to match or beat.

Favorite Character would be Emet-Selch. Between his backstory, his personality, and his interactions with various characters in the story, one can't help but grow to love this man...and how much we torment him.

[Rannie]

Is it bad that I can't just point to one single piece of lore that I like the best? I keep trying to think of one specific one but can't.

Favorite characters is hard to figure out too. If I have to chose it wouldn't be just one because I really like Krile for being a troll especially when she first showed up, then I really love the dynamics at play between Emet and Hytholodaeus so those two are characters that I really like as well.

>.< I can't decide!!!!

[Vyrerus]

Is it bad that I can't just point to one single piece of lore that I like the best? I keep trying to think of one specific one but can't.

Favorite characters is hard to figure out too. If I have to chose it wouldn't be just one because I really like Krile for being a troll especially when she first showed up, then I really love the dynamics at play between Emet and Hytholodaeus so those two are characters that I really like as well.

>.< I can't decide!!!!

Perhaps work backwards from the ones you know aren't? :P Hehe!

[Enkidoh]

Possible spoilers ahead

Favourite lore now is definetely anything to do with the pre-Sundered Ancient world, ever since visiting Emet's fake Amaurot at the end of ShB. And EW has only made me even more intriguied by the Ancient world's culture, society and lore (lets just say I've been spending a lot of time in Elpis lately - even my choice of glamour now reflects this. ).

Favourite character - hmmm, that is a tough one. But, I think I am just going to have to say it's Mr Grumpy, aka Hades, aka Emet-Selch of the Third Seat. Sure, the guy was a utter grade-A jerk of the highest order for 12000 years, and inflicted so much bloodshed and pain on the world with his constant empire building (and ultimately, caused immense torment for the WoL). But scratch beneath that bitter jaded facade reveals a sad, lonely man totally consumed by grief, and, fundamentally, despite himself, does still have compasion, it was just misguided and waylaid in grief for so long - which is why he showed up to save the WoL from Elidibus in the Seat of Sacrifice, and his whole involvement in events in EW.

And the often prickly dynamics he had with his erstwhile friends and colleagues such as Hythlodaeus (who was clearly the foil to his 'straight man' role), Venat (who I'm certain was his lover at one point), and of course, Azem/the WoL, only underlined that grief.

Grief he clearly masked under a facade of theatrics and sassy one liners.

[MoofiaBossVal]

Favorite character is Gosetsu. Good character design. Good voice actor. Love him for the comedy antics and being the big fuzzy papa bear. And is also a steadfast and loyal servant.

Favorite lore? I thought the backstory of Bozja was interesting. Priestesses are chosen as Queens... but secretly the country is actually run by the Praetorian Guard and the queen is just a puppet.

[MikkoAkure]

I have a few favorite characters for different reasons.

G'raha Tia I like because of the character growth he goes through, from annoying and edgy researcher, to world-weary immortal leader of a civilization holding onto the rule of law in the middle of an apocalypse. The fact that I gravitated to him because I read too many trashy romance novels with male leads who are comfortable and go out of their way to be nice to the main character is probably related. But for that same reason I can see where a lot of guys and people not familiar with that sort of character would think he's a bit much or even creepy.

Emet-Selch I like, also due to his character growth. We first see him as another mustache-twirling Ascian: laughing while getting shot, calling his co-worker for the past 12,000 years an idiot, and chewing the scenery nearly as hard than Patrick Stewart and David Tennant's Hamlet. Then we get through understanding why he did why he did and while I think everything he did is bad, it still makes for an interesting character in the same vein as Delita Heiral, probably my favorite character in the whole FF series who also did a lot of bad things but is still interesting and flawed.

My favorite character from 1.0 was Sthalmann/Rostnsthal. I started in Limsa Lominsa so he and Y'shtola were the first characters I was introduced to on the boat ride. Y'shtola seemed to be more like a typical "mysterious girl" trope, complete with white hair. But Rostnsthal was more down to earth and it was interesting to see how different he was on the ship in the original scene and the echo flashbacks when he was a soldier, and then in the marauder quests when he's a washed up drunken pirate who you bond with and form a "crew of two" and go out and fight other pirates. In 1.0, his downfall seemed connected to the mysterious Seal Rock. But then ARR came along, made his downfall more mundane, and made Seal Rock another dumb "Allagan device" instead of a mysterious teleporting island that has a protective sea serpent, which is infinitely more interesting.

My favorite lore is probably anything related to the Bozja quests and Return to Ivalice partly because I love Matsuno's work and his writing is very in depth.

[Atamis]

Its really hard to choose favorites. I prefer most of the old lore the game was based on and seemingly forgotten. Sil'dah and all the nasty things Ul'dah did to win the war and the propaganda afterwords is among my favorites (that i fear will go unexplored). I really don't feel these cosmic monstrosities and world ending grand schemes. I love the world building political intrigues naturally occurring wonders like Eureka (SE please just let me explore without needed an MSQ reason to go to a place)

Favorite character is a toughy. Theres been a few great ones that stuck with me. I want to make my own personal Scion band with Lyna. She was my favorite in ShB. One if the only characters I felt had soul.

Don't really have a favorite villain really. This long running ascian plot has really soured many of them and it wasn't until ShB that they become characters instead of chaotic evil punching bags.
Nidhogg is probably the best this far. He had his motivations and they seemed perfectly justified by the end. There was no trickery or mcguffins, he was wronged mamy times over and was hellbent on justice even though it was against people who truly no longer had any fault against him.

As a summoner I need to raise you all another question, whos your favorite summon/primal/recurring eikon?
Thus far my favorite has been Susano, I wish all the primals had his level of personality. He wasn't designed to drain aether or do anything terrible, he just wanted to have a good time, resilient soul i salute you as well. Bismark in the first Is such a good example of what could have been, just chill super powerful entities living life between worlds.