Hope Estheim

Hope Estheim is a playable character in Final Fantasy XIII. He is the son of Nora and Bartholomew Estheim. Hope's father works for the Sanctum. In the beginning of the game, he loses his mother, Nora, in Hanging Edge during the Purge. He blames Snow Villiers for her death and seeks revenge.

Appearance and Personality
Hope's outfit consists of an orange and yellow coat, a detailed green scarf over a black shirt, black gloves with white palms though the thumbs remain black (the left glove has a yellow wristband over it), deep green pants that stop just below his knees, a black storage pack on his left leg, and light green shoes with black laces and straps. His l'Cie brand is on his left wrist, mostly covered by his wristband. He has distinctive silver hair and of all the playable characters, he is the shortest and the youngest. In Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero: Promise, when Lightning sees Hope and his mother shopping, she says that Hope's face resembles that of his mother's.

Hope starts off as a sensitive and insecure child, who is afraid of war and confrontation. When Snow attempts to hand him a gun in the Hanging Edge, Hope crawls back shaking his head in fright. On the other hand, he holds a deep resentment towards Snow for the part he played in the death of his mother. Hope has always relied on his mother for protection, since he has a distant relationship with his father. After his mother dies, he starts looking to Oerba Dia Vanille for comfort and support, possibly in response to her kindness towards him. This is shown when he wants to follow Snow and wants Vanille to go with him when he grabs her wrist. When PSICOM attacks the Pulse fal'Cie, Hope grabs Vanille's hand and hides behind her out of fear. In Lake Bresha, Hope shows anger for being dragged into the whole situation, as well as fear from the dangers he faces. As the game proceeds, Hope slowly matures.

Final Fantasy XIII
After seeing a fal'Cie two days prior to the game storyline while visiting Bodhum during their vacation, Hope and his mother were captured by PSICOM and sentenced to be Purged under the notion they were tainted by Pulse. They were among the group that was saved by Snow Villiers and NORA at Hanging Edge. Hope's mother volunteered to fight with Snow, but lost her life after saving him from a cannon blast and then falling off the destroyed motorway as Hope watched from afar. Since Snow got her involved in the fight and could not save her (despite his efforts to do so), Hope holds a grudge against him. Frozen from the shock of watching his mother fall to her death, Oerba Dia Vanille slaps Hope, tells him to snap out of it and go with her to a safer place. Later, Hope removes his Purge attire, as the Palamecia passes carrying the Pulse fal'Cie. He watches a young boy being comforted by his mother, which causes Hope to think about his own. After Vanille removes her Purge robe, Hope turns around and looks at her. She catches Hope looking at her, smiles at him and hands him a gun.

Vanille hugs him, and asks him if everything going on is too much, tells him to face it later, and waves good-bye to him. Shortly after Vanille leaves, Hope follows her. They find Snow surrounded by the other members of NORA as he is about to go to the Pulse Vestige. Vanille encourages him to follow Snow into the Pulse fal'Cie to let out his repressed anguish, so she asks Hope if he has something to tell Snow. Hope answers yes but hesitates, then Vanille says that she will go with him. She shoves him to make him go, but Hope still hesitates. After Snow leaves, Hope's grudge intensifies when he learns Snow's group bore the same name as his mother.

As Vanille checks out Gadot's vehicle, Hope approaches her, says "I wanna tell him, it's just that...", and softly grabs her wrist. When Vanille asks him if he knows how to fly the vehicle, he tells her maybe, and she pushes him onto it. She gets on behind him and points towards the Pulse fal'Cie. After Vanille puts her arms around his waist, Hope begins to reconsider as he doesn't want to be made into a l'Cie, but Vanille reassures him. Then Gadot tries to stop them, but they take off and ride to the fal'Cie. After they crash-land inside the fal'Cie, Hope slightly regrets going due to the fear of becoming a l'Cie. When he asks Vanille if she is scared and she says, "Not so much.", Hope tells her that she doesn't get it. After she explains the situation to show Hope that she does understand, he tells her that if soldiers find them there they will be Purged.

Vanille asks Hope what his problem is, and yells at her saying that Pulse is hell on Earth. Vanille hugs him again, telling him to calm down but Hope pushes her away and tells her to get off of him. Later they hear Snow's voice and Hope says, "He is here. Calling himself a hero..." Vanille says that he is coming their way. Hope asks her what he should do since telling him about his mom's death won't change anything, and Vanille tells him they can always just run away. Soon Hope and Vanille are surrounded by Cie'th until Snow arrives to help them. After Snow tells them that he is rescuing Serah, a Pulse l'Cie, Hope yells at him for trying to save a Pulse l'Cie since they are the enemy and calls him insane. When Vanille asks Hope if they should wait for Snow, he yells "I'd rather go to Pulse!" Hope kneels on the ground confused as to why all of this is happening to him, since he and his mom were only visiting Bodhum when PSICOM found the fal'Cie in the Vestige and forced them onto the Purge train despite; on top of all that, his mother is now dead thanks to Snow, and now he also wants to help a l'Cie. After Snow returns, Vanille encourages Hope to go with him in order to tell Snow what he needs to, otherwise he'll regret it forever. As Hope, Snow, and Vanille find Lightning and Sazh with Serah, he and Vanille witness Serah's crystallization. When PSICOM begins attacking the fal'Cie, Hope grabs Vanille's hand in fright. Then the doors to Anima's Throne open, causing Hope to hide behind Vanille. After everyone enters the chamber containing Anima and Lightning actives it, Hope runs away to escape but gets blocked off and ends up becoming a l'Cie. After the party awake in Lake Bresha and learn they've become l'Cie, Hope yells at Lightning for attacking the fal'Cie and then at Snow for the whole situation being his and Serah's fault. Snow tells him to watch it and Hope crawls back to Lightning's feet. He looks up at her angry expression, backs off and holds his head in fright, until Vanille assures him that everything will be fine and walks off with him. Later, when everyone tries to figure out what their Focus is, Lightning asks Hope if he saw anything from the vision. Hope says that he saw a towering figure which causes Lightning and Snow to recognize it as being Ragnarok. Hope asks what they are supposed to do and Vanille answers that it is up to them. Snow runs off to find Serah with Vanille and Sazh following, Hope takes a few steps and turns to look at Lightning before going after the others though he takes one more look at her while leaving. Later, they are ambushed by a PSICOM squad and Hope rushes to hide behind Sazh. When Sazh thinks whether or not deciding to attack the Pulse fal'Cie, Hope is a distance ahead with Vanille. She begins waving her arm to get their attention, she takes Hope's wrist and begins waving it as well. Soon afterward, when the party decides to leave Snow behind with Serah, Hope starts to leave after Vanille but stops to talk to Snow. He tells Hope to not get left behind, that Lightning will look after him, and that they will meet again. Before leaving, Hope tells Snow to count on it. A while after leaving Snow behind, Hope and the others learn that PSICOM is looking for survivors of the Purge. After Sazh talks about the Sanctum fearing Pulse, Hope says l'Cie aren't human, causing Vanille to scold him, grab his wrist and see his brand. As the party continues forward, they find ancient ruins containing an airship and use it to escape but it gets damaged and crashes down towards the Vile Peaks.

After Lightning leaves Vanille and Sazh Katzroy, Hope shyly walks up to Sazh and Vanille then looks in the direction that Lightning went. Sazh tells him that he'd be better off with her. Hope tells them, "Later then," and goes off after Lightning. When he catches up with Lightning, Hope asks her if they should wait Sazh and Vanille but Lightning says that they will eventually catch up. After Lightning and Hope stop at what seems to be a dead end, he asks her if she knows where she is going. She tells him that she had been there before on missions, and Hope asks if they were anything like the Purge. When he asks Lightning why she was a part of the Purge, she reveals to him that she got involved with the Purge by quiting the military in order to save Serah. Hope tells her that she was brave in giving up everything for Serah and how he could never do that. Lightning says that it was not a question of can or can't, because it was something that she had to do. Then after Hope tells her that it was easier for someone like her to say, Lightning scales a wall leaving him behind and Hope feels devastated for her abandoning him like that. When Sazh and Vanille find him, he tells them that it is the end of the line for him since he cannot keep up with Lightning or go home.

After Vanille asks Hope about his dad, he remembers the night of the fireworks festival in Bodhum with his mom, he reveals how he and his mom were forced onto the Purge train, that his mom was frantic and fought in order to return home. He also says that she is now dead because Snow tricked and used her. When Vanille tells him that his dad would be worried, Hope says that his dad does not care about him. After they find remains of a Pulse ship, Hope tells Vanille that the Pulse fal'Cie could have brought it up from Pulse, though Sazh and Vanille do not think so. Afterward, Lightning returns and continues forward. Later after she resolves to go to Eden and destroy its fal'Cie whether or not Snow gets in her way, Hope joins her as he shares Lightning's hatred for Snow.

When he catches up with Lightning again, Hope tells her that he is going with her but Lightning refuses. After Hope tries to convince her, a PSICOM unit attacks, setting off an explosion behind them therefore separating them from Vanille and Sazh. They plan to go through the Gapra Whitewood to Palumpolum, and board a train to Eden. Hope tells Lightning that he lives in Palumpolum and can show her some shortcuts. Lightning tells him not to take any side trips, but Hope assures her that he won't since a l'Cie wouldn't be welcome home. They encounter PSICOM troops and a Dreadnought. Hope examines the Dreadnought to see if it will be of any use. Lightning tells him not to touch it but he does not listen. He uses it to wipe out a few PSICOM units ahead before crashing it. A while later, when Hope trips on a pipe due to exhaustion, Lightning tells him that he is just getting in her way, slowing her down, and her brand begins to glow. Hope yells at her and demands that she takes him with her. After shouting at Hope to get stronger on his own, Lightning summons Odin for the first time, he prepares to attack Hope, but after Lightning saves him, Hope helps her tame Odin. After Lightning's brand stops glowing, Hope asks her if he was really getting in her way and promises to try harder. She apologizes for the things she said to him prior to summoning Odin, and decides to help toughen him up. After they defeat another PSICOM unit, Hope rests while Lightning checks the area. When she returns, she finds Hope fast asleep. While sleeping, Hope mutters "Mom?" with Lightning telling him "Not by a long shot."

Afterward, Hope is seen with Lightning about to enter the Gapra Whitewood, asking her to let him take the lead. Lightning asks him if he can handle it but Hope says "It's not a question of can or can't." Lightning smiles at him, gives him the nod to go ahead, tells him to look forward and that she will guard his back. After some time, Lighting lets Hope borrow a knife that she received as a birthday present to keep him safe. Then he tells Lightning that he is glad that he had followed her, since he wouldn't have stood a chance alone. Later, Hope hears air vehicles coming their way. He says that they have to hide, grabs Lightning's wrist, and pulls her out of sight. They see the soldiers pass and Hope says that it appears as though they were not looking for him and Lightning. She says it is due to PSICOM not wanting their failure to be publicized. Then he later asks Lightning about NORA's name, which she explains the acronym's humorous origins to Hope's dismay as it was his mother's name. Hope later reveals to Lightning his belief of his mother's death being Snow's fault. He tells Lightning that he wanted to go with her in order to get stronger at all costs, so that he will soon be ready to face Snow. He also tells Lightning that Snow dragged him, her, and Serah into that nightmare, so he is not letting Snow get away with it. When Hope and Lightning later come across some dead soldiers, Hope tries to see if they are alright but Lightning pulls him away to the ground. After Lightning tells him to form a strategy to help him survive, Hope creates Operation Nora in honor of his mother. When Lightning asks him if he's bent on revenge, Hope answers yes and says he understands that revenge won't bring his mother back, but a simple apology from Snow won't be enough. After she tells him that his mother's death was truly the Sanctum's fault, Hope asks Lightning who's side she is on. When Lightning tells him the side of truth, Hope decides that if that's really the case, he will help her take down the Sanctum as well and learn to survive. After defeating an Aster Protoflorian and exiting the Gapra Whitewood, they see Palumpolum on the coast in the distance. Lightning suggest that they stop by his house, but Hope objects since only his father is there. Lightning tells him that he needs to let his father know what happened to his mother.

In Palumpolum, Hope says to Lightning that if the train does not go to Eden they will make it move. Lightning tells him that he is now thinking like a Pulse l'Cie. Hope reminds her that Operation Nora was still in effect, and that the Sanctum has to pay for his mother's death as well as Snow. After seeing her irritated expression, he grabs her wrist reminding her she was the one who said that they had to fight, and they are tempting fate with every minute they waste. Hope shows Lightning a path through abandoned drain pipes he used to play in as a kid that will help them sneak past the PSICOM soldiers patrolling the area. While underground in the Nutriculture Complex, Hope shows Lightning the fal'Cie Carbuncle, which provides Cocoon with its food supply. Later, he tells Lightning that it was strange using a Sanctum fal'Cie to tell them where they were going. After she says that it's not that strange since they have depended on the fal'Cie their whole lives, Hope tells her that since the Cocoon fal'Cie protect and provide for its people, they possibly view Cocoon citizens as pets. Afterward, Lightning tells him to abandon Operation Nora as she previously believed that fighting was the only way to survive, much to his dismay. Hope tells Lightning no because she told him to fight, only for her to say that she made a mistake. Hope says that she can't just build something up like that then abandon him, but Lightning reassures Hope that she will not abandon him.

Later, he asks Lightning what they should do and what battles they should fight if they can't stick to the plan. Lightning says that she doesn't know but there is always hope. Hope tells her that l'Cie have nothing to hope for, but Lightning says that there is him. Hope replies that it is only his name and not who he is. Then he is confided with Lightning's past after she says that she was just like him, but once Lightning mentions Snow, Hope demands her to not say his name as it causes him to picture Snow's smiling face and his mother's death. He says that he knows no matter what he does his mother is not coming back, that there wasn't any time to think about while fighting, and that it felt good just to give in. He apologizes to Lightning for being all confused ever since she began talking about them needing hope. Before getting into an elevator, Lightning tells Hope to go and see his father. He asks her if seeing his father will make anything better, especially since his dad never paid an attention to him. After riding the elevator back up to the surface, Hope and Lightning are ambushed by Yaag Rosch and his troops in the Agora. Lightning tells him to run while she keeps them busy, but Hope refuses. When Lightning tells him to survive, Hope steps back in shock from how she is willing to risk her own life for him. An explosion goes off with Snow and Fang arriving on the scene. They attack the soldiers while riding Shiva along a series of ice paths. At the same time, Hope is surprised to see Snow again. But Lightning grabs his hand, pulls him away and protects him as she attacks the troops from below.

After he and Lightning are rescued, Lightning gives him to Snow while she goes off followed by Fang. During his time with Snow, Hope waits for the right moment to take his revenge. As Snow continues to fuel his rage with his words, they are attacked by an angry mob and a PSICOM machine. After the battle on the rooftops of the Rivera Towers, Hope and Snow decide to take a break. Hope has a vision of his mom from when he was a little kid, he can't take the pain anymore, and finally cofronts Snow for all that he has done. Snow says that when someone is dead words are useless, and Hope questions him for running way when someone dies. When Snow says that all he can do is go forward, and keep fighting until he finds answers, Hope objects to this by saying, "There are no answers! You're running from what you deserve!" Snow demands Hope to tell him what he deserves, and Hope says the same fate that his mother suffered: death. He uses his l'Cie power to blow Snow off a high ledge. Hope takes out Lightning's knife and reveals to Snow that his mother died because of him, causing Snow to realize that Hope was the one she meant.

As Hope is about to kill Snow with the knife, a Sanctum airship fires a shot behind him and, just as what happened to his mother, injures him and sends him over the ledge. Snow jumps off after him, catching him in midair and shielding him from the fall. As a result, after realizing someone who was willing to give his life for him could not possibly have deliberately killed his mother, Hope finally apologizes to Snow, he accepts the apology, and the two finally become friends. When they are suddenly attacked by a Sanctum machine, which knocks Snow unconscious, Hope decides to fight it alone until Lightning and Fang arrive on the scene. After the battle, he returns Lightning's knife and tells her that Operation Nora failed. While being embraced by her, Hope tells Lightning that if he could, he wants to watch out for her after she promised to look after him.

Hope takes Lightning, Fang, and Snow to his house where they meet his father. He tells his dad about his mother's fate and that the party would leave once they were done resting up because he wants his father to be safe, since anyone harboring l'Cie would be Purged, but Hope's father protests, saying that he did not care that Hope was a l'Cie, he was his son, and that was his home. Hope hides with his father while Snow stands wounded and bandaged before an entire platoon of soldiers led by Yaag. Soon, Rygdea and more of Cid's soldiers arrive and Hope and the rest of the party leave with them, leaving Hope's father behind as he and the others board the Lindblum and are eventually reunited with Vanille and Sazh on the Palamecia.

After leaving Cocoon, Hope and Vanille get sucked of the airship they were using after it is damaged by a Pulse monster, saved by the rest of the party flying Bahamut into Pulse. Later in the Vallis Media, he is seen knocking coconuts off a tree with Sazh's chocobo helping him. The party find him unconscious after the chocobo returns without him. Coming to after losing consciousness at their camp, Hope tells the others to leave him behind as they journey to Oerba to find some answers. He is then comforted by Snow and Lightning, with the latter telling him that they understand that he is scared, that he was not going through the ordeal alone and smiles at him. Hope tells Lightning that he does not want his friends to get hurt because of him and his depair envokes Alexander, which he manages to tame with help from Lightning and Fang after the former reveals a noble purpose behind the Eidolons.

In the Mah'habara Subterra, Hope mounts another Dreadnought like he did in the Vile Peaks and falls off into the path of the fal'Cie Atomos. Multiple Dreadnoughts appear to stop the fal'Cie from crushing him, allowing the party to ride it out of the tunnels.

After returning to Cocoon from Pulse, Hope summons Alexander on a highway in Eden in order to block off incoming Sanctum forces.

After Orphan's defeat and Cocoon's crystallization, Hope and the others are all crystallised and are placed on the surface of Gran Pulse below. Soon afterwards, they awake up from their crystal stasis. Hope is upset by Fang and Vanille not returning among Serah and Dajh. Lightning puts her hand on his shoulder to reassure him. Hope says that Fang and Vanille probably meant this to be good-bye, and besides, they have changed fate before.

Abilities and Equipment
Hope fights with boomerangs that work differently from normal boomerangs, thanks to futuristic technology and design. But his true strength lies in his Magic Attack power, which makes him a decent Ravager. Besides that, Hope is the only character to be able to learn all elemental spells as a Ravager. Hope also has access to all the healing spells in the game making him heal the most as a Medic with the second being Vanille because of Hope's slightly higher Magic stat, however, he has the lowest HP of any character in the game. His weapons make him good at dealing long-ranged damage. Hope's full ATB skill, Last Resort, deals non-elemental magic damage to all foes. His Eidolon, Alexander, has the ability to turn into a fortress that stands on one side of the battlefield.

Hope's Boomerangs

 * Airwing
 * Skycutter
 * Hawkeye
 * Eagletalon
 * Otshirvani
 * Urubutsin
 * Ninurta
 * Jatāyu
 * Vidofnir
 * Hræsvelgr
 * Simurgh
 * Tezcatlipoca
 * Malphas
 * Naberius
 * Alicanto
 * Caladrius
 * Nue

Musical Themes
In Final Fantasy XIII, "Hope's Theme" is a melancholy tune composed with acoustic guitar. An orchestral variant of his theme, "Sustained by Hate," is heard during his failed attempt at killing Snow, and again when he summons Alexander for the first time. Another variant of "Hope's Theme" is called, "This Is Your Home," which plays in his house.

Trivia

 * While Hope sometimes refers to Lightning as "Light" in the English version, he calls her "Light-san" for the rest of the game after she tells him to in the Japanese version.
 * Hope's main Paradigm roles are Ravager, Synergist, and Medic. His specialist roles are tied between Ravager and Medic.
 * Hope's weapons use sky-based names, most being of mythological birds.
 * Hope's crystal is in the shape of a star, almost resembling the crystal in the Final Fantasy IX [[Media:FfixLogo.jpg|logo]].
 * The animation sequence for Hope's full ATB skill, Last Resort, greatly resembles the White Magic spell Holy in Final Fantasy X.
 * Hope is the only member of the main party whose Eidolon is the same gender as he is. It could be because he's so young, the opposite gender may not have been appropriate, but this is never explained.
 * Hope has the highest magic stat of the main characters.