Digital Media Strategy
Digital Media Strategy
Anybody who knows me can attest that I have a problem- and that problem is being obsessed with my favorite fictional characters. I like many characters, but for this post, I’d like to discuss my top three favorite characters in media and why I like them so much.
I am a HUGE Dragon Ball fan, and I think it was the first franchise I ever got crazily invested in. As a young martial artist (and regular artist!) with an interest in space, what could be cooler than spectacular 80s animation of space aliens duking it out? Not a whole lot, I can assure you. The damage had been done, and I came to love Vegeta; as a character, as a fighter, and even as a father. Vegeta has one of the best character developments in the show in my opinion, going from an overly-prideful, snobby, and twisted villain into a hero who serves the greater good. In the beginning, Vegeta harbored extreme hatred towards Frieza, the space tyrant that blew up his home planet and enslaved him, but Vegeta makes it well known that he enjoyed the torment and murder of others. He was solely invested in himself, and even tried to gain immortality with the purpose of defeating Frieza once and for all, if only to prove himself stronger than his captor. After Frieza’s death, Vegeta makes it his one goal to surpass Goku and prove himself the strongest Saiyan warrior alive, but it is through this long process that he begins to truly change as a person. He goes from being prideful to a fault and not caring for his family at all, to blowing himself up for their safety in a wonderful act titled “Vegeta’s Final Redemption”. In the newer Dragon Ball content, Vegeta has really grown into his role as one of Earth’s protectors, and as a father who would sacrifice himself for his children and family. All of this to say- I really really like Vegeta.
I wonder what he’s smiling about… (no really, I forgot).
God forbid I start talking about Emet or I may say way too much, but here we are. Without delving too much into the deep lore and intricacies of FFXIV, Emet-Selch is undoubtedly the best villain in the entire game. As the player navigates the third expansion pack “Shadowbringers”, Emet is the main villain and makes his presence very known- in a very interesting way. He’s haughty and snarky, but he shows up during private discussions with the player and other heroes trying to figure out how to stop him, and even guides the player to conclusions that would foil his plans entirely. Throughout the expansion, he reveals delicate information into his past and the past of the baddies of the game thus far, the Ascians, and it feels like he wants to reveal this information. With all the revelations we are given, we learn that he is an immortal from an age long forgotten, seeking to kill everyone in order to bring back his fallen brethren. He has lived hundreds of thousands of lives, fell in love, sired children, and even started empires with the purpose of finding an answer to if mankind should be left with his ancient peoples’ legacy. And it is this that makes his defeat bittersweet; He obviously had to be stopped, lest he kill millions for his own twisted purpose, but he was suffering for a millennia, with the one goal of seeing his long forgotten family again. When he dies, he has decided that the world can be entrusted to the player, and tells them to remember the ancients’ legacy… which makes his actions throughout the expansion make more sense. He was testing the player, seeing if he could finally pass on without regret. This (sad) nuance in his character makes him my absolute favorite in the entire game. Hell, I even have a plushie of the guy, I like him so much.
What a shady looking guy…
This guy is the newest addition to my favorite characters list, but that doesn’t mean I like him any less- In fact, he’s kind of been taking over my brain. Astarion is an odd fellow, being a 200 year old vampire spawn (I LOVE vampires!!!) that’s a slave to his master Cazador that he now wishes to kill and free himself from. He’s also just in general sassy, snarky, mean, and downright dubious. If it’s a chaotic option, he’ll probably approve of it. And about that approval rating, by the gods he is difficult to woo. He’s notably the hardest one to appease, as if you act too “heroically” in dialogue with other non player characters he will actively disapprove and even state his disgust with your savior complex. His outward personality aside, he’s actually a very deep and tragic character, having spent hundreds of years breaking the trust of people, luring them to a sanguine death at the fangs of his slaver master. He was beaten, starved, and tortured often, and his storyline is so powerful to me because you can see him either kill his master and move on, or become just as much of a monster as Cazador was himself in an attempt for security in power. He’s much more than just a vampire, he’s a pained man with a past that haunts him up until your party kills Cazador- and if you let him claim even more power, I’d wager that past still haunts him. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the strength to allow him to walk a bad path at the end of the game, but I may have to for completionist purposes. We shall see! For now, I’ll just appreciate his good character and all of his hilarious dialogue; and of course, I will let him feed off of my character for that +1 happiness buff, because how could I ever deny him anything?
You should definitely trust him… maybe.
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