[4.4 Spoilers] That hilarious Y'shtola Cutscene...

Anybody else break out laughing during the Magnai/Y'shtola cutscene?

That was just hilarious, though it seems like they kinda dashed any Magnai/Suda shippers... they really don't seem like they wanna get along whatsoever.

IMO, that'd have to be one of the big highlights of the 4.4 MSQ, though I didn't particularly like the time limit so late in the solo duty with no restart checkpoints in the battles.

Failed the first time because I wasn't prepared for a time limit that freaking tense, and I did it as a WHM, so DPS was a bit lacking.

Guilty.

Even the dev. team acted (LIVE letter Q&A) like it was self-evidence that Magnai and Sadu were destined to end up together, but too stubborn oblivious to actually make any progress on it.

When I saw them in the trailer, I thought for sure they were going back to tie that off nicely, but this was so much better. Not only does it capture the pair's core essence well, it plays off the same trope as Carvallain and Rhoswen (in spite of my headcanon that they've been occasionally hooking up and fighting in cycles since at least '62).

But what made the joke for me was how Y'shtola's everyday personality (reserved, professional, concise, soul-crushingly observant of you motives and insecurities; no doubt a result of spending her adolescence alone with Matoya) so authentically swung through the whole Steppe dynamic like a wrecking ball. I for one think she's hilarious, especially as she grows more comfortable occasionally throwing deadpan shade for her own amusement.

My favorite line was probably when Y'shtola realizes she's becoming Matoya.

That was truly hilarious...

"Little Sun"

That one will shtick for a while. I think what really did it for me was the instantaneous change on her face as she said it.

Priceless.

This was easily my favorite scene of the patch, and there were a lot of good ones.

It was a great scene. Especially since you could see it coming once Y'shtola started Yuna's sending animation and watched Magnai's face. And then Y'shtola comes up with the best derogatory name for Magnai right in front of Sadu.

I'm at least happy that the Oronir/Buduga alliance won't be picking up the Dorthal as allies... they certainly don't need any more tribes ailed with them then there already are. And to be frank, the Dorthal can do a lot better then the Oronir in terms of good tribes to ally with...

If we didn't already know that Magnai and Sadu aren't currently a thing one would be remiss for thinking Magnai thought Sadu was cheating on him with us. Her English delivery certainly had an air of ecstacy from fighting us.

But yes Y'shtola continues to be one of the best characters in this game.

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Originally Posted by Dualblade

Her English delivery certainly had an air of ecstacy from fighting us.

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I'm pretty sure going at it hard in battle is how Sadu does it. She shows little interest in anything that isn't mutually beating the crap out of another person.

Magnai can always settle down with Hien and the Buduga. At this point, I doubt it's a coincidence that Hien is so fond of spending time with the Xaela and allowing the Buduga, in particular, to chase and fawn after him.

He's always with Daidukul, after all.

I really dont see how Magnai and Sadu will ever truly be together and be a good pair on top of that. I am just not sure if a "always challenging each other" kind of relationship would last.

What does last is the burn that poor Magnai has suffered in that scene and maybe even a complete destruction of him being seen as a cool character by us players. Now he will always be the little sun. Poor poor Magnai, first he got roasted by a Namazu and now even by Ysthola and Sadu was there to witness it.

(Well that what you get for saying no to the WoL >_> She could have been your rolanberry)

I loved how Y'shtola got all ok I'm done I have places to be and things to do at the end of the fight. Then the whole little sun and ask me again when you're a man bit made me go oh man I forgot she can be savage. Then when those two were about to start up again everyone else was all OK BYEEEE. Could you imagine if Sadu and Magnai had a kid the rest of the steppe would know when mom n dad were fighting lol.

Oh that scene had me cacklin' super hard; when Y'shtola rejected Magnai, I screamed, "BUUUUUUURRRRRNNNNNN!!!"
She so savage, I love her XDD

Y'sthola vs. Magnai, aka "The Burn (Savage)"

Honestly, I don't think I've laughed harder at anything else so far in this game. Also, while the English voices can be 50/50 in my book, Magnai's and Sadu's VAs have really sold it to me, especially in this patch. In particular are Sadu's pure pleasure fighting us and the sheer glee and Magnai's humiliation, to the absolutely defeated whimper in Magnai's voice: "...Little?"

Absolutely brilliant moment.

If you do a round of "talk to everyone" back at Mol Iloh after this, Y'shtola says that she's no stranger to clumsy propositions, and believe it or not, Magnai's is not the clumsiest she's ever had!

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Originally Posted by Lauront

He's always with Daidukul, after all.

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I went to the Dawn Throne afterwards and Magnai was sitting there being all mopey. I'm sure Daidukul was like, "Come on bro; we'll have some drinks and you can sit here and tell me all about how you still haven't found your Nhaama. I'll be here for you like I always am."

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Originally Posted by Astrid_Stormborn

If you do a round of "talk to everyone" back at Mol Iloh after this, Y'shtola says that she's no stranger to clumsy propositions, and believe it or not, Magnai's is not the clumsiest she's ever had!

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I'd have to say the most awkward situation she's ever been in would likely be that episode where we pull her back out of the aether......without a stitch of clothing on her lol.

She basically got "caught" butt naked in front of what might as well be her co-workers.

That was surely embarrassing if anybody mentioned that to her later when she woke up.

Friggin loved that scene. Laughed so hard. Though I do feel bad for Magnai

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Originally Posted by Alleo

I really dont see how Magnai and Sadu will ever truly be together and be a good pair on top of that. I am just not sure if a "always challenging each other" kind of relationship would last.

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Given the...pleasure...she seems to get from fighting, I'm pretty sure that is how she shows her love. Plus she DID offer to cauterize that burn in his heart.

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Originally Posted by Rosenoire

I went to the Dawn Throne afterwards and Magnai was sitting there being all mopey. I'm sure Daidukul was like, "Come on bro; we'll have some drinks and you can sit here and tell me all about how you still haven't found your Nhaama. I'll be here for you like I always am."

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It's not gay if the horns don't touch... not so sure about the tails.

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Originally Posted by Alleo

I really dont see how Magnai and Sadu will ever truly be together and be a good pair on top of that. I am just not sure if a "always challenging each other" kind of relationship would last.

What does last is the burn that poor Magnai has suffered in that scene and maybe even a complete destruction of him being seen as a cool character by us players. Now he will always be the little sun. Poor poor Magnai, first he got roasted by a Namazu and now even by Ysthola and Sadu was there to witness it.

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I still think he's a cool guy. Not afraid to show vulnerability. Nor did it weaken his resolve.

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Originally Posted by Lauront

I still think he's a cool guy. Not afraid to show vulnerability. Nor did it weaken his resolve.

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Oh I also still find his character quite interesting and his big ego will help him get over that. I am just not sure how the generel fanbase will view him after such a savage burn.

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Originally Posted by Dualblade

Given the...pleasure...she seems to get from fighting, I'm pretty sure that is how she shows her love. Plus she DID offer to cauterize that burn in his heart.

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I mean this is fantasy so anything can happen, but at least in my view a couple that only stays together because they love fighting is normally not going to last. (I can already imagine it though: when they are old they will continue to hit each other with their walking sticks)

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Originally Posted by Astrid_Stormborn

If you do a round of "talk to everyone" back at Mol Iloh after this, Y'shtola says that she's no stranger to clumsy propositions, and believe it or not, Magnai's is not the clumsiest she's ever had!

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Ahhhh! Thank you for sharing this... +1 as well.

I must go check that out when I log back into the game.

Yeah, I feel bad for Magnai but it about time for Sadu to fess up that no other chap will do.

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Originally Posted by Annana

I'm pretty sure going at it hard in battle is how Sadu does it. She shows little interest in anything that isn't mutually beating the crap out of another person.

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She sounds like a saiyan from dragon ball z ;p

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Originally Posted by Pinkie_Pie

She sounds like a saiyan from dragon ball z ;p

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Xaela are a warrior race!

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Originally Posted by Cilia

Xaela are a warrior race!

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Grabbing a Xaela's tail is a good way to capture them. Only the low-class though, the Elite trained themselves out of that weakness.

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Originally Posted by Anonymoose

When I saw them in the trailer, I thought for sure they were going back to tie that off nicely, but this was so much better. Not only does it capture the pair's core essence well, it plays off the same trope as Carvallain and Rhoswen (in spite of my headcanon that they've been occasionally hooking up and fighting in cycles since at least '62).

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I'm not sure they do play off the same trope, or at least not in the same way (which would be boring, I guess). But I like Carvallain and Rhoswen, and never found Magnai and Sadu that enjoyable - or picked up on any suggestion they're "meant to be". I thought we were sailing towards Magnai/Cirina by the end of the main-game Azim Steppe arc, actually.

I find Carvallain and Rhoswen funny because of the "blatant denial" running theme of their interactions with you (particularly once I'd caught onto the underlying truth to appreciate it). Rhoswen is absolutely not interested in Carvallain. Carvallain is absolutely not from Ishgard. Someday the whole thing may come crashing down, but for now it's fun to watch the dance.

Magnai and Sadu.... just don't seem to like each other very much. On top of that, Magnai is fixated with his perfect image of "his Nhaama", and Sadu doesn't show any sign of being interested in him. Unless I've missed something, there doesn't seem to be anything to it beyond the "they hate each other, so clearly they're meant for each other!" trope.

Sadu seems to like how he fights. Course she'd swing at anyone who gives her a good fight probably (and ONLY for the fight most likely, regardless of the game rating.) The problem seems to be more that Magnai just refuses to think that his Nhaama could be anything other than the image in his head.

Plus all the ones who do seem to fit that image either aren't interested in romance OR are pining for someone else.

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Originally Posted by Iscah

I'm not sure they do play off the same trope, or at least not in the same way

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I think you're mostly right, and also that we're just focused on different levels of analysis, lol. (Yours being more technically specific / accurate.)

Both pairs, by the way the devs talk about them, seem to be conceptualized as a matching pair, but one that will never actually be together - just for very different reasons. Carvallain and Rhoswen are much more obvious. They yell about wanting to kill one another and fight all the time, but we've seen everything from Carvallain risking his life to rescue her from the Battle of Carteneau to Rhoswen outright baking him a Valentione's Day treat. These moments just never hit them both at the same time and universally go sideways. However, this shows that they are aware of these complicated feelings.

This is not true on the Steppe.
Magnai and Sadu are oblivious to a connection that the game's writers (and many of its players) have suggested

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Originally Posted by "Letter from the Producer LIVE XXXVII

Q: Do you have plans to implement quests where Magnai will find his moon?
A: There might be a quest with Magnai and Sadu, but only the Dawn Father knows.

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It's all in the Steppe dynamic. Magnai just happens to be Oronir, Sadu just happens to be Dotharl, the Oronir and Dotharl just happen to be bitter rivals. (Just like the Kraken's Arms and the Sanguine Sirens, in spite of the radically different tones of these organizations.) Moreover, the traditions and customs of each tribe have some different values and traits that express success. Magnai and Sadu are exemplary members of their own tribe but worthy of being criticized by one another ... and they take every opportunity to do so because they are rivals.

On rare occasions, these circumstances are muted and their shared love of battle shines through, and for a brief moment it's clear how much thye have in common, how well they work together, and that maybe, maybe... The paradox is that this connection can only be fully realized by upsetting the local dynamic. (Just like in Limsa Lominsa.)

(In the beginning, Azim and Nhaama weren't very fond of one another, either, if you recall.)

Just let them be apart, there's no need for always a happy ending or destined to be or whatever and frankly witht that personality of his he can be a forever alone for all I care

I think the difference between the Carvallain/Rhoswen relationship and the Magnai/Sadu relationship is how much mutual respect and self-deception is going on in the relationship. In Carvallain and Rhoswen's case, it's pretty even. Both of them admit to themselves (though not at the same time) that they do actually like the the other person in the relationship and they do respect them as a person. They also know that each other has similar goals in supporting the direction Limsa Lominsa is going. The drama in the relationship mostly stems from hoping that they'll admit their own feelings to each other at the same time, since were that to happen, they'd probably hit it off right away.

In Magnai and Sadu's case, the respect and self-decption is much more lopsided. Magnai has convinced himself that what he wants in a relationship is a gentle submissive woman. He's never going to notice Sadu as potential relationship material until he stops telling himself that. Sadu seems to know that she does want someone who is her equal in a fight, but she can't take people she doesn't respect seriously. And she really doesn't respect Magnai. She doesn't even respect him for a necessarily bad reason either. Sadu sees herself as a worshiper/warrior of Nhaama, a war goddess. Magnai sees himself as the heir of Azim who the Oronir see as Nhaama's protector. The Dorthal (and quite possibly the other Xaela tribes) don't see why they need anyone else protecting them. For them, that's disrespecting their skill as warriors. So not only does Magnai think he doesn't want to be in a relationship with someone like Sadu, he also doesn't respect who Sadu is as a person. I wouldn't go so far to call Magnai a misogynist, since most of his issues actually aren't about Sadu being female (it's more about how they worship different gods). Magnai would probably have the same issues with Sadu if she was male! That said, there is a lot more concerning stuff going on in the Magnai/Sadu relationship they (mostly Magnai) have to change for the relationship to really work. The drama comes from realizing how well they could get along if they got over it, but the odds of that happening are really small at the moment.

There's also the politics involved in the Magnai/Sadu relationship. The Oronir are currently allied with the Buguda. The Dorthal aren't allied with anyone and still everyone is terrified of them. I can see other smaller tribes not wanting the Oronir to ally themselves with the fiercest tribe on the Steppe and being grateful that Magnai and Sadu can not work together.

So yeah, I view Carvallain/Rhoswen as a "just tell each other how you feel!" dysfunctional relationship. Magnai/Sadu is more of a "if both of you respected each other, this would work out great" kind of relationship. The former kind of relationship has a lot less messiness involved then the latter does.

It's worth noting that Magnai is a very popular character, especially in Japan. So much so that he was given a special 'romantic' cutscene with the Warrior of Light during the anniversary stream. Along with Hien and a handful of other prominent characters.

I suspect that is part of the reason that Sadu and Magnai were not made to hook up - so that if people want to headcanon romance or tension between their character and Magnai then they can do so without anything getting in the way.

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Originally Posted by Maeka

I'd have to say the most awkward situation she's ever been in would likely be that episode where we pull her back out of the aether......without a stitch of clothing on her lol.

She basically got "caught" butt naked in front of what might as well be her co-workers.

That was surely embarrassing if anybody mentioned that to her later when she woke up.

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Someone did mention it to her later. Y'shtola promptly turned towards that someone and fixed him with a glare and went "oh really?"

Poor Alphinaud, forever a teenage boy.

In any case, regarding Magnai and Sadu, weirdly I don't really think that they fit very well together as a romantic couple. However, I think they'd fit very well together as partners, in a "close friends and rivals" kind of way, of which probably the latter half is already true.

I don't see Magnai and Sadu getting together, but I can see Sadu becoming essentially Magnai's wingperson, and BFFs with whoever Magnai does end up with, to help knock Magnai down a peg whenever he gets too overbearing for his hypothetical Nhaama.

After watching this scene, I thought to myself, "Damn, the kitty's claws are OUT. I know he's an ass, but that was just savage! Would it have killed you to have been a bit kinder in letting the poor fool down?"

I'll admit that I was a bit disappointed not to see any development on the Sadu/Magnai front, but honestly, I wasn't really expecting anything but the status quo. It was nothing more than a bit of fanservice for Sadu/Magnai enthusiasts, reiterating what we already knew about their relationship.

It also got me thinking about Y'shtola - and the Scion's in general - in terms of romantic entanglements. NONE of them seem to have any romantic interests whatsoever, with the exception of Thancred - and the implication with him is that his frequent liaisons are purely for physical gratification, rather than romance in any true sense. While it's true the Scions are all very busy, and that their work is very important, surely they have lives beyond that? Alphinaud and Allisae especially - teenagers brimming to the eyeballs with hormones. I mean, I don't want this to turn into a shojo manga or anything, but would it be too much to have one or the other swallow or stutter a bit in the presence of the next breathtakingly beautiful/handsome NPC that joins the storyline?

The Tale from the Storm a while back, in which the female Scions talk about boys just seemed to hammer this fact home. Lyse and Y'shtola were the ones targeted in particular, and Lyse was flummoxed at the very notion that a boy might have a crush on her, and Y'sthola was stonily tight-lipped on the topic (as expected). It's almost like the writers are actively working to reassure the Otaku that yes, their waifus are still unattached, their purity unblemished! It's an attitude I find vexing; I think the characters would be better fleshed out if their sexuality were to be explored a bit - even if that sexuality turned out to be asexuality.

Edit: Actually, there WAS one Scion who got a smidgen of romantic exploration - and it was awesome, if rather subdued: Uriange's affection for Moenbryda (may she rest in peace). I definitely appreciated that development in his character, and thought it helped make him feel like a bit more than just a walking encyclopedia on the topic of Primals. (Though, to be fair, his dalliance with Elidibus and the Warriors of Darkness did a lot for this, as well, and had nothing to do with romance whatsoever.)

That scene was hilarious. And I'm sorry, but this is the only appropriate response...

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Originally Posted by LineageRazor

Alphinaud and Allisae especially - teenagers brimming to the eyeballs with hormones. I mean, I don't want this to turn into a shojo manga or anything, but would it be too much to have one or the other swallow or stutter a bit in the presence of the next breathtakingly beautiful/handsome NPC that joins the storyline?

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We did have the sly insinuations and teasing about Alphinaud's past girlfriends, or at least people he was close enough with for his sister and Krile to tease him about them being his girlfriends, back at the Studium. At least one of them mistook Alisaie for Alphinaud, which provided for some merriment at Alphinaud's expense when Alisaie recounted the incident to us.

I'm assuming this mostly happened at the Studium, because the twins enrolled there at the age of eleven, and I don't think they're that precocious to have romantic entanglements even before then.

Putting those aside, Alphinaud does have his moments of appreciating his female colleagues just a little too closely (eg Y'shtola and Lyse), but that never goes anywhere other than "lol hormonal teenage boy".

I do agree that the Scions do seem rather romance-free, and indeed unusually ignorant of each others' personal lives, given the sheer lack of anything they could talk about in Tales From The Storm that wasn't about work or the WoL. Probably the closest is, as you say, Thancred and his liaisons, as well as his slightly more serious crush on F'lhammin.

(We don't talk about Aenor and the Boulder brothers.)

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Originally Posted by Theodric

It's worth noting that Magnai is a very popular character, especially in Japan. So much so that he was given a special 'romantic' cutscene with the Warrior of Light during the anniversary stream. Along with Hien and a handful of other prominent characters.

I suspect that is part of the reason that Sadu and Magnai were not made to hook up - so that if people want to headcanon romance or tension between their character and Magnai then they can do so without anything getting in the way.

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I agree and I hope that they will go that way. I am fine if they have hints between NPCs but I hope that they leave them single. This way everyone can make up their own version of this, be it them together with another NPC or them together with the WoL. (Or forever alone)