2131: It Builds Character

[For some reason this failed to publish when I wrote it yesterday. Apologies.]

“Tell us about a favorite character from film, theater, or literature, with whom you’d like to have a heart-to-heart. What would you talk about?”

From the Daily Post writing prompt, It Builds Character.

There are any number of interesting characters from a variety of media I’d like to do this with, so in order to prevent analysis paralysis I’ll simply go with the character that popped into my head immediately when I saw this prompt: Milla Maxwell from Tales of Xillia.

Milla was a big part of why I enjoyed Tales of Xillia and its sequel so much. She was a well-defined, very distinctive character, both visually and in terms of her personality — and even so far as her slightly lisping English voice acting went — who has stuck with me long after I was done with those games.

Milla, for those unfamiliar with Xillia is… well, to be honest, it’s a long and complicated tale that is explained over the course of two games, but suffice it to say that she’s not quite “normal” in that she’s lived in isolation from human society for a very long time and has mysterious, quasi-magical powers thanks to her ability to commune with the Great Spirits.

All this stuff isn’t why I’d want to hang out with Milla, though. I’d want to hang out with her simply because she’s cool, and smart, and funny — but endearingly naive about lots of things. Her isolation from human society leads her to ask interesting but not always entirely socially acceptable questions, and her curiosity about the world is infectious. She knows how to get things done when the occasion demands it, but she also knows that it is important to enjoy yourself and indulge your body and mind’s demands when you’re aware of them.

Mostly, she just seems like a nice person, and someone I’d enjoy spending time with. There’s not a single point in either of the Xillia games where Milla has a mean word to say about anyone — the cast as a whole is pretty closely-knit and pleasant, but Milla stands out even among them — and even when confronting her enemies, she’s keen to understand them and why they are the way they are.

What would we talk about, though? Well, Milla’s naivete means that we’d almost certainly have a lot to talk about, particularly if I were to introduce her to things with which she wasn’t overly familiar. Perhaps I’d play some music for her, and attempt to explain the emotional power that sound has over us. Perhaps I’d show her some video games — I could show her her own game, that’d raise an interesting conversation, I’m sure — or sit her down and attempt to engage her interest with a board game. All of these activities would doubtless prompt the question “why?”, and one of the nice things about Milla is that when she asks this, she’s not being facetious, sullen or passive-aggressive about not wanting to do something; she genuinely wants to know and understand why people choose to partake in particular activities. And I think helping her with those big questions would make for some absolutely fascinating conversations.

So, Milla Maxwell, if you ever feel like stopping by, well, I’m pretty sure I can keep you occupied, entertained and intrigued for quite some time, and that’s not something I can say with confidence to many people!