Why, Alisaie?

INCOMING RANT.

Am I the only one who's seriously frustrated with how Alisaie's being handled as a character? Because I want to like her as a character, I really, truly, honestly do, but so far her presence in the story has been superfluous at best.

I cannot think of a single instance where she plays a role in the story that couldn't have been filled by another character. The Coil storyline could've easily played out exactly the same with Alphinaud on his own. Stalking the WoD? Thancred. The kobold kid in 3.4? The WoL themself and/or Alphinaud. Even now, two patches after her big reintroduction into the MSQ, she does and says absolutely nothing of importance. A new outfit and a minion does not a compelling character make, SE.

I keep trying to find traits about her to like, but when I try, I simply come to the uncomfortable conclusion that any good traits about her are ones that other characters already possess, and ones that are unique to her are just... distasteful, such as her hypocrisy and selfishness (spouting off Louisoix's creed about helping others while armchair-criticising Eorzeans), or her eagerness for violent solutions (No, Alisaie, I don't want to fight Garlemald for those Ala Mhigan jerks, I just got done with Ishgard's war). And considering that her positive traits are mirrored in other characters, this just makes her redundant as a character.

The more I examine her character and her role in the story, the more convinced I am that her character concept started out as "contrast to Alphinaud", except then the writers got lazy, decided not to develop her any further, and shunted her off to side-story status. And it's made even worse in that even now, she still seems to serve only as a contrast to Alphinaud, except now it's outdated, because where Alphinaud has gone through the single most complex character development arc of the entire game, all her character development pretty much took place off-screen, and I didn't get a good enough picture of her initial characterisation to do a proper comparison. Also, in the first place, off-screen character development is just a lazy and terrible idea, and her Tale with Emery was too poorly-written to be anything but aggravating.

So, to fans to Alisaie: I want to know what you like about her. Or why you like her. Please do not cite "because she's better than Alphinaud/not Alphinaud" as the reason, because I want to find a personal reason to like her as a character, independent of all other characters, even if her superfluous presence in the story really irritates me right now.

I liked her from the moment back in 2.0 when she called out the GC leaders for using the remembrance ceremony to promote themselves. Since then I liked her in the Coil storyline and in her interactions with the young Kobold in 3.4.
Could her role have been performed by other characters? I guess so. But they were done by her and I like her for it.

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Originally Posted by Mysterysword

her superfluous presence in the story really irritates me right now.

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I've been super positive about everything in the game for years now, but with the recent patches I'm switching to negative opinion on the story. We are really racing through big plot devices now, big focus on the mission plan while skipping on the finer details and the characters involved. I like the big picture stuff, the overall story arc, it's just the execution that is leaving a lot to be desired. I think most characters are underdeveloped, not just Alisaie. I expected more emotion from recent events. I only play in English so I don't know how it came across in other languages. But on topic, I feel that Alisaie is strong-minded and she isn't afraid to disagree with people and pursue her own path, so I like that about her. The expansion will probably have a less rushed story than the patch series we just finished, so maybe certain people will get their chance to shine soon.

To be honest I only connected with one npc and that was Hauchefaunt. Most others either treat you like an annoyance at best or at worst the Errand Boy/Girl of Light. Hauchefaunt was the ONLY one who acted as if he was aware we didn't have to go around solving everyone's minor little issues.

While everyone else said "Do this thing I can't be bothered to do because you're the Warrior of Light and you have to help." Hauchefaunt apologized for not being able to do more to help us find the Enterprise and while he has no right to ask us for our help in return, he knows we are the only ones able to save his dear friend, Francel. After being asked like that I WANTED to help. And not just because of the reward, but because this was a good man.

Personally...
Like someone stated she called BS when BS was needed to be addressed. I love that about her. I love that she is much less diplomatic and way more straight to the point. I don't think Alphinaud would have fit the Coils role because he already had his hands full with the Crystal Braves. He moved on but she didn't. That's why she was seeking, dun dun, answers.

Tracking the WoD, like you said Thancred would have done it too and he did in a way it's how he bumped into her. Is it in-character for her to do something reckless and dangerous herself for the sake of getting answers? Yes, judging by her role in Coils.

Her role with Ga Bu underlined her as someone who does not simply accept what is socially accepted if it goes against her own moral compass. She didn't want to just shrug and discard Ga Bu as lost cause due to the primal's influence regardless of what people have said. While I trust Alphinaud would have been crestfallen he'd likely have shrugged and agreed there is nothing to be done. In all cases Alisaie appears more humane and opposing to what most scions are "okay with". I have nothing but applaud for that.
You say our WoL could have fit her role but let's face it, we're bit of a blank slate. We also barely talk. We had very little time to bond with Ga Bu and while you can say, same for Alisaie, she had not (at least as much as I can recall) seen tampered souls directly, unlike us who had already seen this with the Ifrit quest line. We know it can't helped, she on the other hand makes sense to refuse to accept it and give it a try anyway.

So yeah those are my reasons. I find her very refreshing to have in the crew. :D

Personally, I wouldn't call "being less diplomatic" a good trait, at all. The Scions and Archons, from the very beginning, have been pushing for improved diplomatic relations between the various factions within and without Eorzea. I don't think anybody in this story believes that war is a good thing, and disregarding diplomacy is usually a good one-way ticket to war.

While I can accept that her calling out people on their BS is a positive trait, the thing that frustrates me is that she... doesn't do anything about it. In fact, in her initial speaking scene, while she's accusing the GCs of tooting their own horns, Alphinaud is right there in front of her, explaining the exact political reasons why they're downplaying the roles of the WoLs and Louisoix. And then instead of coming up with a rebuttal, her whole response is to go, "FTS, I'm out", which, when I think about it, is pretty accurate to how the rest of Sharlayan acted, so... props for consistency?

Basically, she's happy enough to point out all the bad things about Eorzea and its people, society, and cultures, but instead of working to fix the problems she sees, she's content to just sit out and do her own thing.

One might argue that, maybe she was working to do something behind the scenes, and I would say, that would've made for a way better Tale, than just having her wander around the realm aimlessly (no, I'm never going to get over just how stupid that Tale was. All that opportunity and potential for some actual character development, and they wasted it on a cheap death of a cheap character).

In fact, one of the things that struck me about the twins, with their initial characterisation, was that when they first come to Eorzea, they don't see it as a cause worth fighting and dying for, the way every other character in the cast does. It's fair enough; the twins are foreigners, and relatively immature to boot. But what is annoying is that they seem to view Eorzea as a means to an end; whether in seeking self-validation and recognition, or just chasing Louisoix's legacy, which, truth be told, neither of them fully understand when they start out.

The difference, then, is that while Alphinaud eventually grew out of this way of thinking, Alisaie doesn't seem to have done so. Even in her very last line of the MSQ, talking to us about fighting for Ala Mhigo, she almost seems to think of war as some sort of proving ground to earn fame and glory. And please, we already went through this with Alphinaud, do we really need to go through the same character development arc twice?

My reason for saying I enjoy her 'less diplomatic approach' is because we already have Alphi with the diplomatic approach and plenty of the other scions who do too. I see her as refreshing, maybe balancing the dialogue a bit when big words start flying about. I also consider the twins are like 17? She feels like she acts more her age where Alphi tries to fit grandpa's shoes bit too much.

She had some of the best lines these last two patches. Her, Nero, and Gotetsu are going to make Stormblood very enj

She is Urianger's top covert operative and she is awesome. One thing that needs to be changed is her outfit. The colors look meh and she needs to exude her awesomeness. :D

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Originally Posted by rxnin

She is Urianger's top covert operative

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I really have no idea where you got that impression. From 3.0 to 3.4, Alisaie is in no way working with or for Urianger. Quite the opposite, in fact, as it seems.

"Good gods, his voice could fell a gigas." I was sold after that.

Really you could argue that almost any npc's role could be covered by another NPC. What is the point of Krile's character beyond being a character. Pretty much her role was mostly covered by Yshtola already. That doesn't mean I want to get rid of her because the Scion needs numbers and Krile is both a character I like and competent.

As for Alisaie, she isn't a scholar or a diplomat in the same way Alphinaud but her strengths lie elsewhere. She is competent, intelligent, resourceful and pragmatic. She has a healthy cynicism which grounds her character in a way Alphinaud lacks which is the source of one of his greatest weaknesses. Her story is of a young lady coming to understand why her beloved grandfather made the choice he did, accepting that loss and finding her own reason to turn to helping protect Eorzea. The next step for her seems to be figuring out how to do that.

Perhaps Krile is being set up to fill Y'stola's role in the future. Remember, when she visited her teacher, her teacher noted that the light was gone from Y'stola's eyes and that she would use up the 'energies' she received when she returned if she kept up her usual actions. Just a musing...

I like her personality, her voice, and that she's willing to go the outside road. I don't, however, like how haphazardly the plot has invested in her in turn. I'd have loved to have seen a bit more of her good sides, though where that equates to competence I could say that for any of the Scions. The NPCs in this game collectively and especially individually leave much to be desired, after all.

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Originally Posted by cbwriter

Perhaps Krile is being set up to fill Y'stola's role in the future. Remember, when she visited her teacher, her teacher noted that the light was gone from Y'stola's eyes and that she would use up the 'energies' she received when she returned if she kept up her usual actions. Just a musing...

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My thoughts have been that pretty much all of the 1.0 Scions will be filtered out/replaced slowely. Louisoix was the first, then Minfillia is gone (who she was ceased to be), Papalymo is dead, Yda is gone in a more symbolic way... Truth be told I expect either Thancred or Y'shtola to kick the bucket sometime somehow during the 4.0 expansion, maybe both even. The only one I haven't noticed anything about is Urianger, but who knows what kind of (deadly?) effect his dealings with Elidibus may have had on him in the future.

Personality think she is one of the worst scions maybe next to yshtola , it's sad when gosetsu shows up and has more personality in 10 lines then all the scions put together maybe except thancred

I want to restate that complaining about Alisaie's character does not mean I want to get rid of her in any way. I'm mainly just trying to figure out why and how the story so far has shafted her this badly, and how it could be changed to make her a better character. Killing her off now would honestly just piss me off even more, because that pretty much means giving up on fixing the issues that her presence has caused.

As it stands, it feels like she brings very little to the table if she's not the awkwardly-shoehorned main star of a patch. A quick examination of her actions throughout 3.4: Shows up after taking an arrow to the shoulder or something, recovers after... a few days? Then completely overcompensates for her weak reintroduction by becoming a mechanic for a showdown between the WoLs and WoDs that's been anticipated since 3.0.

(Yeah, this is exactly what I wanted, an epic fight being reduced to "Touch this NPC so they can win the fight for you and completely defeat the purpose of being the WoL!")

At this point I just want to say, the writers can dress her up, give her all the minions, and make her as OP in fights as they want, but Alisaie's not going to be an important or compelling character until she starts actively affecting the plot the way every other Scion seems easily capable of doing. I will freely admit that Yda* greatly annoys me as well, but I'm not complaining about her because she still manages to be integral to the plot.

Perhaps the problem just lies with Alisaie's motivations. The main, overarching plot is one of people fighting and dying to save the world, and this drives their every action. Meanwhile, all Alisaie seems to care about is Louisoix, or forging her own path based on Louisoix's ideals, not her own - and it says a lot about the twins when Alphinaud clearly cares more about her than chasing Louisoix's memory, which, yeah, is one reason why I prefer him - and this just doesn't tie her into the main plot very well.

So compared to the rest of the cast's relatively selfless goals, the fact that Alisaie's goals and motivations are largely self-centered just makes her come off as really irritating. There's also the fact that her seeming eagerness to kill is a bit creepy to me. She just seems way more bloodthirsty than Alphinaud, for reasons I can't fully comprehend.

I disagree anything has to be changed about her, she is fulfilling a role of breathing in new air into the dialogue, not everything has to be so extremely polite and serious.

One of the best lines of Y'shtola was when she disregarded politeness to pretty much tell Merlwyb they and their territorial war are to blame for Titan and Levi summoning, but this is not something she will always do, having a character fulfilling this role works better for the story.

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Perhaps the problem just lies with Alisaie's motivations. The main, overarching plot is one of people fighting and dying to save the world, and this drives their every action. Meanwhile, all Alisaie seems to care about is Louisoix, or forging her own path based on Louisoix's ideals, not her own - and it says a lot about the twins when Alphinaud clearly cares more about her than chasing Louisoix's memory, which, yeah, is one reason why I prefer him - and this just doesn't tie her into the main plot very well.

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I think you should give this a read http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodest.../#sidestory_07 her story moved away from her grandfather a long time ago.

BTW it's perfectly okay to dislike a character, but that doesn't mean something has to be changed about that character.

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Originally Posted by Mysterysword

At this point I just want to say, the writers can dress her up, give her all the minions, and make her as OP in fights as they want, but Alisaie's not going to be an important or compelling character until she starts actively affecting the plot the way every other Scion seems easily capable of doing.

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Isn't this what people used to complain about Minfillia? That she was nothing but a fanservice girl in charge, with no *real* contribution to the plot?

I won't touch Minfillia however since it would be out of topic so moving back to Alisae.

From the very beginning of early story, we were shown that Alisae was a very emotional driven character. She was a straightforward, no nonsense girl with no patience for politics or negotiation. In her eyes, action IS immediate action, not talking around promises, not paying hollow lips services, and not paperwork jobs. This trait contrasts heavily with Alphinaud's back then, thus resulting in the twins' parted ways.

Her character later got a development with the Coil storyline. Her impulsive and emotional approach was questioned, forcing her to re-evaluate her ways of thinking. It was also here that her motive was brought to light, that her reason for coming to Eorzea was simply her attempt to reconnect with her grandsire, nothing altruistic at all. (P.S: Alphinaud's motivation was nothing but selfish at first, it took grand beating to change his mind)

By the end of the story, Alisae came to made peace with her inner conflicts, even managed to reconcile her strained relationship with her twin brother. She came to realize the errors of her way and considered the merit of Alphinaud's logical approach, and so she decided to make her own journey, to find her reason and her way to protect Eorzea.

When she came back and joined the Scions, we've been shown how far she's became. Despite her initial disdain for politics, she attended the Alliance meetings, even when her presence would give little to no meaning especially with Alphinaud around. She listened to what others said, held her usually sharp tongue, and talked only when needed. She could even deliver sharp and otherwise direct statement in relatively civil and like-politician manner without sounding rude or offensive.

Outside the meeting, she still openly expresses dislike of politics, but her eagerness to participate in something important, however she hates it, is a huge jump of her initial characterization.

Alisae however, is aware of her limits and other Scions' capability. She opted to stay behind and let Alphinaud go instead when the Alliance was amassing their forces, because Alphinaud has more experience in handling military affairs. She also didn't follow the contingent to wake Omega, with other Scions were just as preoccupied, and Alphinaud is more reliable than her in scientific research, someone had to stay and be prepared if there were any news from the Alliance, or other fronts (keep in mind that every Scion agents, including the less noticeable ones, were out seemingly on equally important missions).

She is no more the impulsive and emotional girl she was. She's become mature, and has accepted other approach to solve things, and that being passive doesn't mean being inactive. In my opinion, she's gotten just as much development as her brother, if not more. A good character is not the one who affects the plot the most. Characterization and development are the keys to make a good character.

I admit that the pace of story this time feels rushed, resulting in many of a character's development and traits forgettable and ignored. But blaming the poor plot and its delivery on the characters does no justice to the characters themselves.

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Originally Posted by MiraKershaw

gosetsu

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Well Gosetsu is the 'Happy Grandfather" character which is why he has such a high spirit personality. However, it seems Gosetsu is going to be only important during 4.0 and 4.X era storyline assuming he survives into 4.X storyline.

Beyond 4.X is unknown as certain characters remain only important at a certain area within the Main Storyline due to their character being move related to the area and objective trying to achieve.

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Originally Posted by Valenth

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I have been thinking that since 2.55 ended that incident felt like a foreshadow of what is to become of the Scions.

it feels as if the Scions will slowly disband over time with the WoL eventually becoming a True Adventurer at some point only reuniting with the Alliance during important calls to arms against possible threats. Hopefully by then the Ascian's stop being the distant antagonist of the storyline because it has become very dragged on with their plots and being the True Evil Antagonist of the game yet in the end we have seen nothing of actual conclusion to their storyline.

Having a long term antagonist is nice for a Storyline but when that long term antagonist get dragged on for so long as the Ascian and their God with them only acting by manipulating people to do their work for them with honey covered words it makes people forget that they are the real threat unless SE keeps shoving the Ascian's name and appearance once in a while to remind the player the Ascians are the Real Antagonist of the story.

The only time they seem to act directly is when they think they can kill the WoL and only the WoL. Everything else seems to be them just sitting back and watching how things happen while making a few calls telling the Antagonist of the story "hey remember our honey cover words to you."

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Originally Posted by alimdia

I think you should give this a read http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodest.../#sidestory_07 her story moved away from her grandfather a long time ago.

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I gave that ridiculously trite story way more reads than it deserved - it reads like bad fanfiction, to me. One thing to note is that in the very first scene with Emery, Alisaie's still quoting Louisoix's "To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence." line. Hell, she's still quoting it in 3.55-3.56 (can't exactly remember if she did in 3.4 but I have a feeling she did). Sure, maybe she does have other motivations for doing whatever she's doing. If so, can we get a clearer explanation on that? Why does it seem like any time she needs a motivation for doing something, the writers default to having her quote Louisoix?

My previous post made it sound as if I was saying Alisaie's a bad character because she doesn't affect the plot, which is not what I meant to say. Rather, a well-written character would affect the story simply because they are a well-written character, not having the story tailored to them the way 3.4 was tailored to Alisaie. I cannot find a single instance where I implied that the poor writing of the plot was the fault of the characters. That is not the case in my opinion: I think that the poor writing is exactly what's causing the characters to be shafted so badly.

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Originally Posted by Mysterysword

One thing to note is that in the very first scene with Emery, Alisaie's still quoting Louisoix's "To ignore the plight of those one might conceivably save is not wisdom—it is indolence." line. Hell, she's still quoting it in 3.55-3.56 (can't exactly remember if she did in 3.4 but I have a feeling she did).

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Originally Posted by Mysterysword

Sure, maybe she does have other motivations for doing whatever she's doing. If so, can we get a clearer explanation on that? Why does it seem like any time she needs a motivation for doing something, the writers default to having her quote Louisoix?

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I can't be sure if she did quote that line during her re-introductory story, but yes, she did quote it in 3.56 and personally, nothing is wrong with that. More than half of the casts like to quote Louisoix, with Urianger obviously the best example.

There is nothing wrong with quoting someone that is considered a national hero by all of Eorzea, less so if they have personal interaction with said hero. Louisoix was the driving force of the Circle movement, and the man behind the Scions founding. He's the reason for the twins coming to Eorzea. Louisoix was, and still is the reason why the Scions do what they do, some may even say he was their motive initially. Even so, each has found their own reason and motive to fight, not because Louisoix told them to, but because they, in each of their way, has come to believe in what Louisoix believed in. That newfound reason doesn't make them arrogant to cast Louisoix aside; if not for Louisoix in the first place, they may not come to this realization. So they honor him, quoting him time and again, not simply because they follow his creed but because they believe in his creed.

The poor plot writing is to blame, yes, but it was clear the writers still put much effort to show off the characters in more subtle ways. The characters, barring exceptional few, are absolutely so much well written and thought of while the plot story and the delivery just simply can't keep up.

While I wouldn't call myself a fan of Alisaie, necessarily, I don't think she's been as poorly developed as you imply. That's been gone over plenty already, and better than I could have done. I do want to add, though, that she's only been back in the game for two patches, and only been in the spotlight in one of those (which mostly served to re-establish her as a character). Give it time. She's in the key artwork for Stormblood; with any luck, she'll enjoy a role not unlike Alphinaud in Heavensward.

And while some may question if this team has that kind of storytelling in them still, due to their disappointment with the perceived narrative failings of 3.56, I don't think we have to worry. 3.4 was some of the best tandalone(ish) storytelling this game has ever done and included a great deal of really efficient, effective characterization. I don't think a single patch of stage-setting is enough to take away the benefit of doubt.

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Originally Posted by Mysterysword

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To be honest, I don't see much difference in how Alisaie is developed to how the other characters are. I am not sure why this bothers you specifically with Alisaie. That said, a good deal of her current development happened in Coils and was about her coming to understand her grandfather's choices. A good deal of her attitude towards the city states prior to that was colored by the fact she was mourning her Grandfather and projecting that at the city states. For her it felt like they were wasting his sacrifice even if that wasn't far. In coils she came to understand that and deal with her grief. She hadn't necessarily found why she wanted to protect Eorzea but she now accepted why her grandfather had and was open to looking on Eorzea with unbiased eyes. As for why she quotes her grandfather, it is because she believes a great deal in his wisdom and teaching and uses it as a basis for how she wants to live.

Beyond that she still has a lot of development to go which I expect we will see in SB. I think its highly likely Alisaie will be along for the ride and hopefully will get development much like Alphinaud did in HW. Its not like we are at the end of the story yet. Yugiri hasn't had much development either but she will be probably getting a great deal in SB. Beyond being a kick ass Ninja and the leader of refugees, we really don't know Yugiri well. She is a very reserved character and has never shown a great deal of emotion. It is one of the things I am looking forward to about Othard.

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Originally Posted by RobinMalvin

So they honor him, quoting him time and again, not simply because they follow his creed but because they believe in his creed.

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I am fully aware and cognizant of the fact that the Scions quote Louisoix plenty of times, and why. There is no need to bring them up when the whole reason why I mentioned Alisaie's quoting of Louisoix had nothing to do with them in the first place. But the Scions do serve as a contrast to Alisaie. The problem I have with Alisaie quoting Louisoix's words, as I said before, is because it seems like she's using Louisoix's teachings as her motivation for doing anything, whether it be helping out Emery in her Tale, or re-joining the Scions. Because I get absolutely no impression from her that anything she does is truly of her own volition, as opposed to being of opinions and ideals that she absorbed from someone she idolised. And that irritates me, because if you want to present a strong character, that's not exactly the way to write them.

The rest of the Scions, in contrast, give me no such impression. I can easily believe that they do what they do, not because "Louisoix said it was the right thing to do", but simply because they want to do it.

I find it hilarious how with Minfilia, we had a diplomatic female character who stayed out of the action because she lacked combat skills. Now, with Alisaie, we have a combat-trained female character who stays out of the action because... she lacks diplomatic skills. Can we ever win?

The reason why the poor handling of Alisaie bothers me so much is: From the new outfit, the minion, and the buildup of the 3.4 story between 3.0 to 3.3, I conclude that SE wants to present Alisaie as a main member of the supporting cast. All well and good, except why does her character development seem so out-of-focus compared to the rest of the Scions? She had an entire patch to shine and yet it just fell flat. Instead of allowing her, as a character, to shape and drive the plot, the plot just forged on ahead, with her tagging along because she's "not the girl I once was". I suppose poisoned arrow wounds come with a side of Instant Character Development(TM).

Compare to, say, Thancred. Throughout 3.1 to 3.3, he had a handful of scenes and interactions, both to the player and the WoL, but in those few scenes, managed to show off just how he'd changed as a character, and provide a solid, simple, and clear explanation for why he'd changed. But try as I may, I cannot find a clear explanation for why Alisaie has suddenly changed from the way she was back in 2.0 (and let's put aside the Coils storyline, because if her Tale is canon, then Coils seems to have affected nothing at all), to joining the Scions in 3.4.

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Originally Posted by Mysterysword

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Alisae has just as much a reason to quote and idolize her grandfather just like any Scion. Does the fact she quote him many times mean he hold him in high regard? Certainly. Does that mean she simply use his grandfather's teaching as an excuse? Maybe, if we consider Coil storyline non canon and her cutscenes in 3.4 is set aside but as it stands out, the probability of her simply emulating Louisoix is close to zero.

I suggest you rewatch the cutscene of 3.4, Beneath A Star Filled Sky. Just because she quote Louisoix, doesn't mean that's all everything in her head.

3.4 gave her lots of focus, and she's a brand new addition to Scions so it's not anything strange for her to be not the main focus in next plot. Even then, her growing character is obviously still showed without having to put her in the midst of story. She's new character, doesn't mean she has to suddenly affect and control the entire plot.

You judge her character too quick just after one patch of her re-introduction.

P.S

This rant posts have gone too long to be in lore focused forum.

I do have to agree that Alisae's entry in the Tales of the Dragonsong War was deeply disappointing. She starts by declaring her decision to find her OWN way in Eorzea. Then, while her brother is making bold decisions among the Scions (not all good, to be sure, as was evidenced by the Crystal Braves) she wanders aimlessly for a while, joins a caravan, makes a friend, loses the friend in a tragic accident, and... that's it. If it wasn't for Coil, she'd have nothing at all. If you didn't do Coil, she really DOES have nothing at all.

As for her role in 3.4, while she got to shine for a bit I'm still really uncertain what she's going to bring to the table. I haven't written her off as a lost cause, but I'm a little worried that the authors will focus a little to heavily on her to make her relevant, just as they did with her brother in 2.x. On the other hand, Aphinaud DID eventually benefit from that spotlight, since the writers made the interesting choice to show the drawbacks of putting a wunderkind like Aphy in a position of power... but there's no denying that Aphinaud's smug attitude before it all fell apart rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way!

One more slightly annoying trend I've noticed with Alisaie is that the writers keep introducing new characters for her specifically to bond and interact with, while not developing her relationship with the WoL much, if at all. And it's a huge contrast to how Alphinaud's friendship with the WoL is handled.

It's no surprise that I like Alphinaud and how he's grown from being a commander to a partner and friend for the WoL. Their friendship is all in the little gestures now, like the WoL looking straight at him and not even needing to speak for him to get the message in the first cutscene with Nero. That last scene of them walking into the woods in East Shroud together, before the credits, was the best possible note to end 3.56 on. And as for the other characters that Alphinaud's formed relationships with (Estinien, Ysayle, etc), they've all had strong, lasting presences and affected the plot in their own ways with their own interactions.

We'll never meet Emery, since she's dead, barring some more PotD shenanigans. Will Ga Bu be back? In a way that affects the plot strongly? Or was he just the latest in a series of throwaway characters created solely to give Alisaie more character of her own? Right now I don't feel like Alisaie is a friend to the WoL, or at least not to the level that the rest of the Scions are, not just Alphinaud.

I'm honestly still trying to figure out who or what Alisaie actually cares about on a genuine level. Stalking the WoDs seems to have been initially a way to seek validation, for her, not because she was concerned that they might have posed a threat to anyone (rereading the last few paragraphs of "A Malm in Her Shoes" shows absolutely no evidence to the contrary). I cannot recall a single instance of her openly showing concern for Alphinaud, and in contrast, Alisaie being injured or in danger is one of the very few things that can get Alphinaud to lose his cool, both in Coils and 3.4. Sure, she sent the caravan guy in 2.55, but again, offscreen. This is one of the reasons why I say Alphinaud cares more about the living than Alisaie - he went into the Coils to protect her, she went in there chasing Louisoix. It actually feels a bit sad at times, how she seems far less concerned about him than he is with her.

Whatever the case, Stormblood's story and Alisaie's development in it should pretty much be set in stone by now. I can hope to be pleasantly surprised, and I will, but from what I've seen so far, I can only expect to be disappointed.

She's one of my favorite characters in the story, and I hope she gets more face time. I like both of the twins. Alphinaud's the reluctant leader; wanting to unite Eorzea, but is unsure of himself. Alisaie wanted to be more scholarly in her pursuits. Then she reluctantly got pulled into the bigger fight.

I love the character development with both of them. It's two young adults trying to take on the mantle of Louisoix's leadership. With all of their victories and defeats under a microscope.

Funny how you hate her. I on the other hand am liking her more and more. Sure she still needs some development but we kinda have an expansion comming out. Remember Alphinaud grew a lot during 3.0. Back in ARR he was an annoying twerp whom I very much wanted to see dead, but his travels with Estinien and Ysayle changed her for the better. Besides she would gladly do more, but Alphinaud is pretty much trying to make a second Tataru out of her. With 3 Scions down he'll have no choice but to let her sister have a more active role in the story.

I like Alisaie because she seems like the type that can read people well. She knew almost immediately something wasn't right about Urianger when she came back onto the scene. If she doesn't like what she is seeing, she will express it in some fashion.

Plus the scene where she literally slays the WoD was awesome. I liked that she drew contrast there with her brother on battle style, not just personality wise. I've enjoyed her quite a bit. Alphinaud actually grew on me through Heavensward as well.