Does your Character aspire to be a Hero?

[Amielle]

Ami never even knew that being a hero was possible, and even if she did have the skill, she wouldn't want that fame and attention; she would just want to help those she can without being in the spotlight.

[Zelmanov]

Orrin definitely does, but for possibly all the wrong reasons. 

 

He'd fail the "pure of heart" challenge in whatever temple of worthiness.

[Nako Vesh]

Nako, has always wanted to be a hero. She wants to save all the princesses! In her own mind, she sort of already is, but secretly, she probably feels she's already failed. Spoiler.

[Dravus]

Not exactly. He aspires to do good but he doesn't aspire to do that for recognition, money or glory. His ultimate goal is peace between Garlemald and Eorzea - but since that's largely dependent on the outcome of the main story I'm fully prepared to have it end badly for him and kill him off should the Garlean Empire end up being presented as little more than a generic evil empire when we finally see it addressed directly.

[Jerciex]

Nope. Maybe when Jerciex was kid but now he wants to keep low profile and serve Gridania in peace by helping locals and give directions to lost outsiders.

[Syranelle Ironleaf]

You know what a hero is...?  Somebody who gets other people killed.

- Zoe, Firefly

 

Syranelle knows first-hand the price of heroism and has since aspired to be nothing remotely resembling one.  She is content to pursue her studies and research, play with plants, and help people with basic needs rather than try to change the world.

[Gegenji]

I think my answer to this should be pretty obvious, considering I've oft-termed Chachan as "a Hero Wannabe" or even going so far as to title him "the Littlest Hero."

 

He very much wants to do heroic things - "halp" people and beat up bad guys. When he isn't at his forge, he's doing those obnoxious errands for people that you could likely equate to the "filler side-quests" in most MMOs or other RPGs (take this package over here, move these boxes, get these rats out of my basement, etc.) without complaint. He purposefully sought out the likes of Warren and Roen because the life they lived seemed so close to that envisioned ideal he had, wrought from storybooks and tales told to him by his mother and brother.

 

And yet, on the flip side, he's recently had to deal with a lot of revelations based on all that. One of the very first things he was forced to learn early on is that he can't help everyone - and that sometimes trying to help can make things worse. He's still willing to try, though, even though he's rather frequently learning that he doesn't always have what it takes. He's not the brightest kid around, his combat ability is wrought solely from daily training with Warren and his stints at the Grindstone, and he is easily paralyzed by the idea of hurting someone he cares about or potentially killing people in general. All he has is the desire to help people, a stubbornness to keep trying, and the smithing skill to encase himself (and his friends) in gear that will hopefully allow him to deal with any physical conflicts without too much injury on either side.

 

OOCly, I wonder if he's still in that "aspiring to be a hero" phase (though I feel he'd never believe he left it, himself) or actually reached a point where he might be considered to have attained that status. Since, after all, someone can claim to be a hero all they want - but the truth of it is in the words of the people. Meanwhile, Chachan will continue being the dorky little good boy who wants to halp.

[Hammersmith]

Hammer very MUCH aspires to be a hero.

 

Unfortunately for everyone else his idea of a Hero is the classical greek version:  Someone who punches history so hard they can never buff the mark completely out no matter how hard they scrub.

 

Heroes in the greek times were less virtuous and more INFAMOUS.  They did huge, wide reaching things that impacted society and the world, and it often wasn't good.  (Which isn't to say they were good, just that someone who conquered entire lands and slaughtered people was as much a Hero as the one who defended them, and there was a lot of bad shit in antiquity)

 

Come to think of it the root of the word as we know it is somewhat tied to THIS motherfucker:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herostratus

 

Who burnt down one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world just because he wanted to be known forever.

 

They tried scrubbing him out of history.

 

Obviously it didn't work.

 

Hammer's on a similar trajectory. He wants nothing more than to drag a key over the nice shiny paintwork of history and leave a mark that even replacing the door won't hide.

[Virella]

Hammer very MUCH aspires to be a hero.

 

Unfortunately for everyone else his idea of a Hero is the classical greek version:  Someone who punches history so hard they can never buff the mark completely out no matter how hard they scrub.

 

Heroes in the greek times were less virtuous and more INFAMOUS.  They did huge, wide reaching things that impacted society and the world, and it often wasn't good.  (Which isn't to say they were good, just that someone who conquered entire lands and slaughtered people was as much a Hero as the one who defended them, and there was a lot of bad shit in antiquity)

 

Come to think of it the root of the word as we know it is somewhat tied to THIS motherfucker:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herostratus

 

Who burnt down one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world just because he wanted to be known forever.

 

They tried scrubbing him out of history.

 

Obviously it didn't work.

 

Hammer's on a similar trajectory.  He wants nothing more than to drag a key over the nice shiny paintwork of history and leave a mark that even replacing the door won't hide.

That's actually quite the interesting outlook onto being remembered! I like that idea very much.

 

Bit OT, but I felt it needed to be said

[Hali]

Corelyn doesn't want anything close. She wants to remain out of the spotlight, to be able to do some good on her own, without gaining too much attention. She'd prefer to live out her life, pursue her interests, and do what she wants to do, which is just to learn all she can about everything she can, and to better advance her crafts.

 

 

Dail'a, on the other hand, beneath his hardass, edge-lord front, is a bleeding heart. He wants to help everyone he can if they truly deserve it, such as the downtrodden or forgotten, and rid the world of anyone who proves they're no more than bad apples. Though he does enjoy the fighting, he wants to do good and to, if not be remembered himself, make changes in the world that will be one day, regardless of how he has to go about it.

[Manari]

What is a hero? A miserable little pile of secrets!

 

Manari has a pretty selfish and narrow outlook as of late. She isn't an adventurer and she doesn't want to be recognized as any kind of hero. She dislikes most areas of the realm outside of her precious Twelveswood and wouldn't really care all that much if they burned or rotted as long as it didn't impact her home.

 

But within her home, I suppose her actions could be called heroic by some. She has taken to protecting her forest home by donning a mask and green clothing to seem one with the woods as she strikes from the shadows, the treetops, and the underbrush. Until the elementals are strong enough to protect the Twelveswood, Manari has decided to protect them and become the Greenwrath in their place... as much as one Miqo'te and her pack of wolves can anyway.

 

Of course she deals with most of her problems in a similar way that the Punisher would. So perhaps not all that heroic after all.

[Martiallais]

Ahh what a fun question.

 

Zarek deep down in his inner self hidden beneath layers of sarcasm and BS would love this. To be celebrated, praised, and looked up to. For a kid born in Ul'dah to somehow rise to a place where he's considered a 'hero' would be tantamount to wish fulfillment. Gil & girls, coin & country, etc etc. But the reality is he's really only good at one thing and that's putting the hurt on people and things, which is something he accepted a long time ago and is content with doing despite how it makes him appear to others.

 

Martiallais is probably the closest to being an actual hero but would never accept that or simply deflect the praise elsewhere. He's a knight, after all. Honoring his vows and protecting his people (which is really Ishgardians, Elezen, and pretty much anyone he feels sufficiently close to), those things matter more than praise or being viewed as a hero.

 

Temurgal just wants his people (Au Ra) to prosper and stop fighting long enough to retake their homeland. He'd like to be seen as a hero in a sense, as someone strong and maybe even worthy of being followed, but it's not a priority by any means. Protecting his family and being strong enough to do so is far, far more important in his eyes. Though he's starting to realize that there may be some value in heroic deeds/reputation so he's kind of easing onto the path from a different angle.

[Sylentmana]

Well, my most recent character Q'ilora is a weaver so I guess she aspires to be a hero of fashion and a defender of good taste.

[13uddy]

I kind of consider this a spin-off of the thread asking if there were any legendary/mythical heroes. It got me thinking, I wonder how many of us have heroes aspiring to be more, and how many of us are just trying to live day to day with our characters.

 

My thread made someone think?  I'm not sure if that is awesome or if I should apologize.  

 

But to answer the question, I think it would be more accurate to say that he aspires to be like the heroes he's heard about, to follow the examples they set, but he doesn't exactly want to become a legend himself.  Sure, he doodles in his journal images of heroic looks (like a signature armor or outlandish disguise) and weapons, and jots down ideas for names of heroic weapons and witty battle phrases, but those are more a fantasy than anything serious.  At the end of the day, he's just trying to live his life the way he feels is right.

[111]

Evangeline already *thinks* she is a hero of the people. She works for the poor and unfortunate, and believes that even the lowest of Eorzeans have some value.

 

(Eva's internal view of herself)

 

Unfortunately the people have yet to come around. Any day now the parades will start. Part of it might be the fact that her 'heroics' can sometimes cause more harm than good, due to not being thought out very well.

 

No worries though, the people will flock to her and give her praise at any moment. Probably soon.

 

*time passes*

 

Yep... any day now.

[D'aito Kuji]

D'aito Kuji longs for adventure and trills and challenges.  She is not deliberately acting out the Hero's Journey or seeking to save Eorzeans from the whatever.  She does bounty hunting but only for the gil and the thrill.  And she is becoming known as an adventurer who will not easily give up on the task she's been contracted to do.  D'aito won't knowingly violate the laws of the land and will not play the role of an assassin. Her brief time with the Drake Tribe and their politics left her with a sour stomach so she will attempt to avoid political squabbles.

 

This isn't to say that D'aito is morally gray.  She has a sense of right and wrong but those senses don't always coincide with business.  For instance, while she feels bad for returning Miqo'te "dancers" to the people who "contracted" them, she did as she was asked.  And she has returned people who escaped from confinement despite suspecting they were falsely charged or convicted.

 

Fortunately, these problematic cases don't come up very often.  The vast majority of her work is fetching, hunting, fishing, delivering, escorting, and any number of odd jobs that pay.  But many an adventure has spawned form what was thought to be a simple job.

[Alkaid]

Hey, would you say...I became a hero?

 

 

(But seriously though, no, not as such. More of an interest in seeing everything)

[Jean L]

Jade doesn't like the attention that comes with being a hero, bad for a man with a criminal record a mile long. 

 

Nekhii, though he won't admit it, desperately wants to be a hero. He wants to adoration and praise of everyone. He'll try and say that he wants to just help everyone, which is true, but he internally expects praise for it and love. He also wants to rub the noses of people who wronged him in his accomplishments. Poor treatment of him because of his Au Ra heritage kind of warped him that way.

[Sigil.9054]

Seldi most certainly doesn't want to be a hero.

 

"Why would you seek to be a hero?" she'd ask. "For you to be a hero, someone must firrst be a victim. You would wish people to sufferr so you may have a chance at fame and glory? Seems rrather selfish to me."

 

Mayhap she's had some bad experience with heroes in the past. Who knows?

[banndsand]

One of my characters, Zuzureji, wants to be a hero of sorts. Mainly he wants the power a hero has to do good and to protect those close to him. He's got a long way to go.

 

The rest of my characters don't really have an interest in heroics. Though Jakatolui wouldn't mind being famous and rich from beating things on the head.

[cuideag]

Yes.

 

Not the sort that gets parades (though she might attend Evangeline's when her's rolls around) or accolades or even thanks, really. Chances are no one will really acknowledge her at all, given her Unpopular Opinions and the often violent ways she goes about them. Deep in her little heart, though, she knows she's fighting the good fight for the betterment of her nation. She's believed it so long that she couldn't possible be mistaken after all...!!

[CrimsonMars]

No.

 

Chiyo is generally caring and sympathetic towards other especially her love ones, even going as far as risking herself for helping some people she doesn't know, but she finds the title in itself overrated. In fact, to her, the word "hero" is more insulting than the word, "bitch." She hates it. She thinks it is a dumb title that belongs in stories. Even going as far as to call it a joke. If Chiyo herself is called one, she'll deny it. Chiyo does have people she looks up to, but she doesn't consider them "heroes" either. She especially looks down upon others who would do things just to say they are or be called one. Chiyo does what she feels is right, not to be a hero. She's no "girl scout."

 

Btw, if she ever meets someone like Chachan, she'll make fun of them to no end.

[Altitis Acquired]

No, not really. Vachir isn't a bad guy, he just doesn't see the point of "fame and glory". He just does what he does, and if it helps some people, then that's nice.

[Vodka Tears]

Nope, Nergui's believes everyone should be able to solve their own problems. People are nice and all, and if he happens to encounter someone in trouble, he might help, but ultimately it's not his problem.

[Xzenivar]

A'kos I think would like to be a hero, but wouldn't want all the fame it could bring. Small scale attention is fine, wider reaching attention is a death trap in the making.

 

He's been the other guy, that figure that may not be a villain, but did some nasty things for poor reasons. 'Following orders' doesn't really make up for it, but when it's all you've known then what?. That's his thinking, but he's had his wake up call and thinks being something like a hero may be the way to go.

 

So he wants to help others, and fight for a good cause. Wealth, (quiet) glory and a beautiful woman or two at his side would be great bonus' but right now he wants something to believe in, wants to feel like he's doing the right thing, and maybe make someone else's life better along the way.

 

And fight stuff, because that never gets old. 8-)