Personality: Hope makes an impact wherever he goes, whether or not he means it. It can be his looks (inherited from his momma) that brings all the people to the yard, his intelligence or calm, professional demeanor. Maybe even a mix of two, or all of the above said traits, which, believe me, is a far cry from when he was a cynical teenager.
And oh, was he cynical. He was a petty brat back then, spoilt and sheltered with no friends thanks to his easy lifestyle and over-reliance on his mother. All that changed because of painful experiences in his past, and he realized that he needed to grow up. He grew up, and managed to straighten himself out, emotionally and mentally.
Enter the adult Hope, the polite, well-educated young man with a good deal of charisma on him. He's smart, confident and hardly indecisive, making him that kind of guy you look to if you're trapped in a burning building and you need to get out. By the time the words leave your mouth, he'd have an escape route planned out in his head. If you have a problem with bullies or general douchebags, he'd try find a way to negotiate or talk it out with them instead of resorting to blows to scare them off, not only because he sucks at physical combat, but because he doesn't believe fighting or violence is a good way to go about something.
He's also the first person you'd see crawling all over a new device and poking at it with a pen, because he's naturally curious-- he wants to know all the things (oh yes, I went there). How does it work? Does it still work? Can it be fixed? Can I fix it? These are the first things that come to his mind in this kind of situation, and there's no way anyone can keep him from getting to work. Might as well leave him alone for the day to let him get acquainted with his new friend.
Hope is by no means arrogant though, as some geniuses were wont to be. He knows he's intelligent, but attributes that instead to his studies and hard work, and doesn't know at all that he's actually good-looking, which makes for some awkward times when he catches girls (and some guys) staring at him. He's humble about all of his abilities and accomplishments-- it's not false humility, which is self-depreciation whenever praise is given, but true modesty. In all honesty, Hope doesn't think much about himself, and prefers to put others before him, showing that he has quite a lot of compassion and bravery in him.
He's also grown a sense of humor over the years. Not something as tasteless as making offensive jokes, or drastic as thinking up of pranks to pull on people every other day, but Hope's subtle when showing off his funny side. For example, he pulled a tiny prank on Vanille, making her think that he liked her (as in like like) before she realized he was just fooling around. Lately, he hasn't had much of a chance to do so, but he used to play little pranks on others when they least expect it, especially if it's a pun of his own name. You never know when he's going to make a smart comment, which really blind-sides you when he does take the opportunity to have fun.
However, he can still be a little melancholic, especially where his mother, Lightning, Fang or Vanille are concerned. When he gets attached, he really gets attached, and his driving force throughout XIII-2 is to save them by researching paradoxes, the past, and even create a whole new world for the people. Heck, he keeps his old boomerang around as a memento even if it's not needed anymore. He's still a bit sensitive when it comes to his past, and should it arise in conversation, this kind of vulnerability really shows.
But there's one big thing that hardly comes up, and that's his awkwardness in social situations-- stick him in a big room full of people he doesn't know in an event like a party or convention, and he starts to fidget (makes you wonder how he did during prom if they even had that in Gran Pulse). If it's something professional, sure, he can do it, but casual stuff? Not at all. From this, you can gather that he hardly ever makes the first move when making-- or attempting to make new friends. But when he makes friends, he stays loyal to them forever, and that's more important, isn't it?
Note: I'll be putting up a permissions post for spoilers on his journal. His canon was released in English on February 2-3 and while it's been weeks since the release, I know a lot of fans wont have played/finished it yet. Considering Hope's canon point, you can tell spoilers abound.
Hope Estheim || FFXIII/XIII-2
Hope makes an impact wherever he goes, whether or not he means it. It can be his looks (inherited from his momma) that brings all the people to the yard, his intelligence or calm, professional demeanor. Maybe even a mix of two, or all of the above said traits, which, believe me, is a far cry from when he was a cynical teenager.
And oh, was he cynical. He was a petty brat back then, spoilt and sheltered with no friends thanks to his easy lifestyle and over-reliance on his mother. All that changed because of painful experiences in his past, and he realized that he needed to grow up. He grew up, and managed to straighten himself out, emotionally and mentally.
Enter the adult Hope, the polite, well-educated young man with a good deal of charisma on him. He's smart, confident and hardly indecisive, making him that kind of guy you look to if you're trapped in a burning building and you need to get out. By the time the words leave your mouth, he'd have an escape route planned out in his head. If you have a problem with bullies or general douchebags, he'd try find a way to negotiate or talk it out with them instead of resorting to blows to scare them off, not only because he sucks at physical combat, but because he doesn't believe fighting or violence is a good way to go about something.
He's also the first person you'd see crawling all over a new device and poking at it with a pen, because he's naturally curious-- he wants to know all the things (oh yes, I went there). How does it work? Does it still work? Can it be fixed? Can I fix it? These are the first things that come to his mind in this kind of situation, and there's no way anyone can keep him from getting to work. Might as well leave him alone for the day to let him get acquainted with his new friend.
Hope is by no means arrogant though, as some geniuses were wont to be. He knows he's intelligent, but attributes that instead to his studies and hard work, and doesn't know at all that he's actually good-looking, which makes for some awkward times when he catches girls (and some guys) staring at him. He's humble about all of his abilities and accomplishments-- it's not false humility, which is self-depreciation whenever praise is given, but true modesty. In all honesty, Hope doesn't think much about himself, and prefers to put others before him, showing that he has quite a lot of compassion and bravery in him.
He's also grown a sense of humor over the years. Not something as tasteless as making offensive jokes, or drastic as thinking up of pranks to pull on people every other day, but Hope's subtle when showing off his funny side. For example, he pulled a tiny prank on Vanille, making her think that he liked her (as in like like) before she realized he was just fooling around. Lately, he hasn't had much of a chance to do so, but he used to play little pranks on others when they least expect it, especially if it's a pun of his own name. You never know when he's going to make a smart comment, which really blind-sides you when he does take the opportunity to have fun.
However, he can still be a little melancholic, especially where his mother, Lightning, Fang or Vanille are concerned. When he gets attached, he really gets attached, and his driving force throughout XIII-2 is to save them by researching paradoxes, the past, and even create a whole new world for the people. Heck, he keeps his old boomerang around as a memento even if it's not needed anymore. He's still a bit sensitive when it comes to his past, and should it arise in conversation, this kind of vulnerability really shows.
But there's one big thing that hardly comes up, and that's his awkwardness in social situations-- stick him in a big room full of people he doesn't know in an event like a party or convention, and he starts to fidget (makes you wonder how he did during prom if they even had that in Gran Pulse). If it's something professional, sure, he can do it, but casual stuff? Not at all. From this, you can gather that he hardly ever makes the first move when making-- or attempting to make new friends. But when he makes friends, he stays loyal to them forever, and that's more important, isn't it?
History: Wiki link!
Note: I'll be putting up a permissions post for spoilers on his journal. His canon was released in English on February 2-3 and while it's been weeks since the release, I know a lot of fans wont have played/finished it yet. Considering Hope's canon point, you can tell spoilers abound.