A series of character predictions by the Falcord user Sicengamble. Not a traditional theory post, but not completely unprecedented either, especially as a fun one just before launch. So without further ado, the list:
Van: Grendel form is his inner image/self-perception as he needs power to protect his loved ones (=justice hero armor) based on the time Gerard killed Vans mother. He uses her last name to honor her and because he hates his father Elroy for breaking his oath to protect his wife. He continues to stay distant from Elaine because Almata could target those close to him anytime and he considers himself still too weak to shield her.
Agnes: her artifact is the key to the fear power Almata wishes to unleash or rather its regulator. Without it the power will run wild uncontrollable which Gerard will activate after his fight in the final dungeon. Her late grandfather was a high-ranking member of Basil’s academic elite
Feri: will serve to introduce new big shot jaeger groups outside of Red Constellation, Zephyr and Nidhoggr plus she’ll give insight on the old Zemurian pantheon through her belief in Arusha, giving hints on Aidios’ origins
Aaron: mostly serves to introduce Heiyue and underground groups. Will be targeted based on the false rumors that he is involved with Heiyue after he protects Ashen Lu during the Heiyue coup (see plot predictions)
Quatre: indeed the character from Rennes door in the 3rd. Was relocated from Paradise to a Calvardian lodge because of his talents, was saved there during the D:G raids and met Hamilton after she inspected the cult tech in the raided lodges. Main role will obviously be to fill us in on why Verne split from Epstein foundation and what’s going on internally
Risette: spies on Van by Gilliam’s orders as he is interested in his Grendel form (is in alliance with Gerard). Is not an actual robot, but has been implanted with tech that can simulate outside powers in short bursts as part of experiments to enable humans to withstand Gnosis, destroying humanity’s shackles without turning them into demons. Will turn against MTSC because of friendship yada yada but will be turned off through an emergency shutdown command (and of course be reactivated in Kuro 2).
Judith: her Grimcat form is based on her desire to punish evildoers and give others hope (hence why she became an actress to make others happy and smile). G/Mamas Mafia was built by the missing female Zephyr member who after her interactions with Fie wanted to create a place where young women could put their talents to use for something good (like stealing from the rich) even if they knew nothing but battle and pain before. Also, there’ll totally be a scene where Dingo shoots a picture of her and Van for his gossip magazine.
Bergard: Barkhorn who left the Gralsritter because he was fed up with the way the church handles things. As the most experienced former member, he knows about the coming “Nothingness of all” to a degree and can’t stand how slow the church is acting or that they don’t seem to go all out even if the world is literally threatened multiple times. He used the same memory distorting Thaumaturgy Weissmann loved to give Gaius a fake trauma and forcefully awakening his Stigma, meaning he still possess his own
Elaine: will continuously question herself why Van is avoiding her, leading to her insecurities and fear growing which will be used by Almatas fear McGuffin in the final chapter. Van will bring her back to her senses, explaining his issues and the plate is clear for a fresh start in Kuro 2.
Rene: obviously is the unfortunate one in the childhood love triangle. A really nice guy, but after it becomes obvious Elaine will still choose Van over him, he’ll start to work non-stop and becomes ensnared by Gramheart’s goals involving alternate worlds.
Zin: he is there to fight Walter and, as a pseudo S-rank, to give Falcom an excuse to deny us new S-ranks once again.
Fie: is fanservice for Sen fans. Will serve as Zin’s sidekick and to namedrop characters from earlier arcs. Finds out about the leader of Mamas Mafia during the game and begins to search for her
Cao: will be our Heiyue contact through a rather unwilling Aaron and the main target of the Heiyue coup (see plot predictions).
Rixia: hired by Cao as support against Almata but will be overpowered because of her years of dancing instead of doing Yin work. Haji dialogue implies that the Organisation hates Yin with a passion, so she’ll be targeted not only by Almata but also Garden members
Renne: Highschool romance arc! Namedrops Liberl and Crossbell characters. Covers for Agnes “trips” but obviously finds out the truth immediately, regularly exchanging info with Van, and will have a big reunion scene with Quatre.
Hime: psycho student of Yun. Her Zero Style is the counterpart of Rean’s Void style, meaning her skills are sharpened by filling her mind with bloodlust instead of emptying it. Same principle as living fist and murder fist styles of Taito; if you forget any form of mercy and humanity you can become so much more deadly even though Yun originally taught her so she might gain control over herself (like Rean and his fears)
Kurogane: senior member of Ikaruga who was saved and taught by Hime’s parents and thus sees it as his duty to protect her life. Even if she might be stronger than him already, he can serve as a meat shield.
Walter: bloodlust calmed down after Sky arc, and he took Zins words to heart, refocusing on the basics instead of wildly branching out his style. Doesn’t bother with killing civilians or weaklings anymore but still gets his blood boiling fighting strong enemies. Will serve as a bridge to give Vans some of his father’s perspective before they actually meet again.
Lucrezia: Elroy’s simp. She will use different disguises to meet Van again and again over the game, providing vague hints on where to go.
Elroy: Van’s dad. He will appear after the final battle together with Arioch to kill Gerard and have a father-son meeting. Will take the fear artifact with him.
Hamilton: researching the desertification of the East lead her to leave Verne. Of all of three disciples she is the closest to Epstein’s knowledge on the true nature of the world and the Beyond, so she vanished to escape the crosshairs.
Yun: head of Ikaruga because there are evils that cannot be purged with morally bound methods like the ones of the Bracers (which a lot of his students choose or are morally close to). Will kick serious ass.
Mare: outside being realized after McBurn’s and Salt pales entered Zemuria. The nightmare forms are tools to ease the synthesis process with their vessels. The more the form is used, the more it will resemble their original outside form and it will become easier to fuse with/assimilate them without side effects like memory loss.
Giliam: an opportunistic bad guy but no idea about him aside from the fact that he might be the connection between Gramheart and Gerard. Seems more like a Kuro 2 antagonist to me
Kasim: doubt he left the Khurga corps for real. Most likely an inside job to get information or technology.
Gramheart: most likely a major antagonist for Kuro 2 but he will flex Calvard’s new military power to establish it as the new Zemurian superpower.
Melchior: D:G victim who enjoyed and became addicted to Gnosis, willingly becoming an active child member of the cult (for example luring other kids to them) and searches for similar thrills now. Loyalty to Gerard is based on the promise that once the ultimate fear is unleashed, he’ll permanently enter a Gnosis high.
Viola: Gerard simp but unlucky because fear is better than sex. Will try to kill Melchior after he was finally beaten by the heroes but will fail.
Alexandre: will be the Almata guy fought most often because of strength checks on his search for death. Will be killed by Arioch during his betrayal.
Arioch: the first Shura we get after Loewe. While Loewe kept his rage and bloodlust under control, only unleashing it against trash like the Paradise members of the cult, Arioch will completely embrace the path of carnage like a war god in a human’s body. Will betray Gerard on behalf of the Garden once his fear project gets stopped by the heroes. Takes care of Alexandre to respect his former colleagues wish to die a warrior’s death while Elroy disposes of Gerard.
Olympia: agent of MTSC. While Risette’s outside powers are channelled through the body modifications, Olympia channels them through her doll. Will return to MTSC after collecting enough data during Almata’s fall.
Gerard: former member of the Moonlight Horse like Elroy, Lucrezia, and Sharon. Joined Garden instead and murdered Van’s mother to teach them the fear of losing what you love when you least expect it in retaliation for Elroy joining Ouroboros. Wants to crush Van’s bonds as a ploy to handicap his father, Elroy.