Awfully weak story... or is it? [WARNING:SPOILERS]

[BlueMage]

No. It's crazy beliveing in a dictator to begin with.
Side note: the admiral use the iron fist not becaus it's a tyrant per se, but because it's the only way to organize a bunch of cut throats who until yesterday did all the fuck they wantede wanted without any control. Limsa it's a cove of pirates, don't forget it. The maelstrom it's there to give them order.

Yet you're the one who believes in a dictator: the admiral.

I'm just pointing out that Gaius uses the same justification as Admiral: establishing order.

[yukikaze_yanagi]

Yet you're the one who believes in a dictator: the admiral.

I'm just pointing out that Gaius uses the same justification as Admiral: establishing order.

Ok, good. What's your point then ? I clearly stated in my very first post Gaius is not "evil" but on a different fence. It's not a monodimentional villain, he have a good side like a bad side. Still, we are on different sides, and such we are enemies.

since i'm italian, i'll make an hystorical reference: Mussolini. It did lots of good things: reclaim swamps, giving jobs, , food, building structures. Still, he was a crueless men, who negated every opposition by the force, he endorsed the racial laws of Hitles, he indoctrinated (like the garleans) the new generations to believe the fascism was good and invincible. Since he made good thing too, then this negate all the bad he did ?

[Kayokane]

Yet you're the one who believes in a dictator: the admiral.

a dictator who got her position by winning a boat race, and can easily lose it in the next :3

'Til sea swallows all!

[Kallera]

Yet you're the one who believes in a dictator: the admiral.

I'm just pointing out that Gaius uses the same justification as Admiral: establishing order.

Merlwyb isn't threatening the homes, culture and livelihoods of the players. If you're looking for pure utopias of immaculate ideals, you're not going to find one on Hydaelyn, and most utopias don't stand under scrutiny anyway.

So, yes, there are poor people, there are criminals, there are bastards and thieves. That's no excuse to destroy everything we hold dear, and that's what the empire represents to Eorzea: an outsider forcing the destruction of peoples' lives into a culture of conformity.

To use an American perspective, imagine a person running for the presidency, promising to eliminate unemployment, hunger, fix the roads and make it a stronger country, but to do all that, he must do away with the constitution and bill of rights.I'm not saying its impossible, but the circumstances would have to be nigh post-apocalyptic, and even then hope of restoration may still see him lose.

Hope is a plague to a man like Gaius, he is a min-maxer at heart who doesn't see people, he sees tools, and calls them defective or not. I couldn't respect a god with such an outlook, what chance does Gaius have?

[Naunet]

Merlwyb isn't threatening the homes, culture and livelihoods of the players.

No, she's just threatening the homes, culture, and livelihoods of the beast tribes (particularly the kobolds), breaking a long-standing peace treaty because territorial expansion is super awesome fun times. But no one cares when it's beast tribes, huh?

when one starts to justify and rationalizing genocide/institutionalized rape... well....

Dude, it's a fictional character. I mean... really.

[Kayokane]

No, she's just threatening the homes, culture, and livelihoods of the beast tribes (particularly the kobolds), breaking a long-standing peace treaty because territorial expansion is super awesome fun times. But no one cares when it's beast tribes, huh?

ignoring the fact that Limsa Lominsa broke the treaty with the Kobolds several generations before Merlwyb, the kobolds did not instantly respond and remained relatively passive until they were able to summon Titan after the Battle of Silvertear Skies, when Midgardsormr was felled taking down the imperial's flagship, Agrius.
or at least that was my understanding from the LL city part of the main story

[Naunet]

the kobolds did not instantly respond and remained relatively passive until they were able to summon Titan after the Battle of Silvertear Skies

They didn't respond largely because they had no effective means of combating Lominsa's military. It was either give up the land or get slaughtered. So yea, when they finally had the means to fight back, fight back they did.

[Kallera]

They didn't respond largely because they had no effective means of combating Lominsa's military. It was either give up the land or get slaughtered. So yea, when they finally had the means to fight back, fight back they did.

The governance of countries is not like a game of Civ5, where there's enough for everyone and trustworthiness abounds. My point is, the 3 city states are looking to their own affairs because the carnage wrought has left them in a weakened state with enemies at the door. So no, no one cares about the beast tribes. Not since the little moon dropped and the legions who dropped said moon tried to slaughter us. The times are more desperate than you think. It's only when the story is finished that one major threat out of several is done with.