Spoilers! A certain characters eyes

[Arienal]

So...now that we have 3.1 and we have finally seen Matoya's crystal Eye..is it just me or did the main theory of how we can restore her eyes just fly out the window? I had hoped that we would somehow be using the crystal to restore her eyes but lo and behold..it STILL goes unmentioned. Though if nothing else, this at least puts to rest one of my fears that SE would do something tremendously stupid where they kept her blind, but had her carry the crystal around to see for her, as that thing is WAY to big to just carry about. Outright maiming the characters we care most about is downright unacceptable..and the fact we're not seeking justice for whats been done to us and the other scions, nor are we doing anything to help our maimed comrades, is nothing short of insulting.

Just...why the ever loving hell does SE seem so damned determined to cripplingly MAIM the core characters?

[TinyRedLeaf]

I wonder if it's worth pointing out that, technically, the WoL doesn't yet know that Y'shtola is blind. It's something that only Matoya has noticed, and she confronted Y'shtola about it in private.

That being the case, I don't find it unusual that none of the other characters — including the WoL — is urgently looking for a cure. Yes, Y'shtola's eyes may be different, but as far as almost everyone around her is concerned, she doesn't seem to be handicapped in any way.

And I put it down to simple courtesy and respect for her privacy, that no one has actually thought to ask what happened to her eyes.

Imagine, if you would, that you nearly lost a real-life friend to a life-threatening accident. She was saved, but only at the very last moment, and suffered permanent, disfiguring injuries as a result. What would be the first thing you'd feel when you meet her in hospital? For my part, I imagine that I'd be immensely relieved that she survived and is okay. Would I mention her injuries? I highly doubt so, unless she brought it up herself.

And here's the thing: Y'shtola never mentioned anything about her eyes nor her vision. The closest hint she dropped, when the Scions reunited with her, was her noticing something different about Alphinaud. But everyone thought at the time that she was merely referring to the young elezen's brooding depression.

It was only natural, I feel, for everyone to assume that her time in the Lifestream had scarred her, perhaps permanently. That was what I assumed, in real life, when I watched that cutscene. It wasn't until later that we, the players learnt, how bad the injury was.

It's not clear when Y'shtola herself realised what has happened to her. In any case, she was never likely to tell anyone else about it, given that she keeps to herself most of the time. So, it really isn't surprising that no one is prying into her personal affairs — it would be insensitive, on the one hand, and rude on the other.

And given also that she seems to be seeing just fine, who would notice that she's actually blind? Only a master mage who knows Y'shtola like the back of her hand would be in the position to ask so sensitive a question.

[Morningstar1337]

Just...why the ever loving hell does SE seem so damned determined to cripplingly MAIM the core characters?

Drama. Put simply the Warrior of Light is at Mary Sue levels of competence and power, I'd say that injuring Superman (WITHOUT Kryptonite, mind you) would have more lasting results then directly harming the WoL. But that said, s/he does have a weakness (also one of their strengths), their friends. The Scions are not god-tier god-slayers. They are simply normal human beings, and thus having something bad happen to them would indirectly hurt the WoL on an emotional and strategic level (since they are the people that help them get close enough to the primals lairs), Same principle behind Hauchfaunt's death really (though done to grater effect with him due to presentation)

On top of that, Y'sholta's eyes are really not the issues, the aethersight arguably compensates for that. The real problem is the shortened lifespan, and I don;t think Matoya's crystal of light can help with that (She prolly would have offered to help if that were the case).

[Belhi]

Thancred and Y'shtola's losses both work as character development tools and to establish that the work the WoL and the Scions do requires sacrifice. Its not easy and it has a cost. Its a testament to their belief and commitment to their cause that they take up those wounds and carry on regardless.

I still think at some point we will see Matoya sacrifice something to aid or save Y'shtola, probably when her apprentice has pushed her limits too far. The side quests show how important Y'shtola is to Matoya.

[Fenral]

I'm a bit over the whole "beautiful sacrifice for the greater good" schtick myself. There are weird thematic flaws (and Glurge) in how it's been handled in FFXIV so far that don't really sit well with me. There are times when it can work, sure, but these writers already failed most of their trust-building exercises. (I guess it also doesn't help that the last anime series I watched was "Yuki Yuna is a Hero".)

I don't want them to quietly suffer for the cause. I want us to find solutions to their problems, because they're of more value to the world when whole, but I suspect I need to wait for Minfilia to call them on it. I really hope she does.

[saber_alter]

On top of that, Y'sholta's eyes are really not the issues, the aethersight arguably compensates for that. The real problem is the shortened lifespan, and I don;t think Matoya's crystal of light can help with that (She prolly would have offered to help if that were the case).

The way i read it is that it's not the fact that she went through the lifestream or aquiring aethersight that reduces her lifespan, it's prolonged use of aethersight. since it's her only form of sight + always on = die early.

if i had to guess the only cure would be to either find a way to disable it, or permanently blind her.

[Frederick22]

I suspect at some point Matoya will sacrifice her life, to save Y'shtola. Not to give her back her sight but a way so she doesnt consume her life by sensing aether.

[Kotemon]

Well in a sense that she was struggling to maintain herself in the lifestream all this time. She also learned and gained new spells and senses. But the forbidden technique seem to have left her actually blinded, but not really. You see she can now see everything through aether form, but at a cost of her own lifeforce. Matoya was truly concerned considering the spell she used was very dangerous. We can also assume that her powerful spells also use some hint of her LF too. Talk about commitment.

So how is this similar to how the Garlians see aether via a white looking third eye, and if so then why can she still use magics.

[Arienal]

I suspect at some point Matoya will sacrifice her life, to save Y'shtola. Not to give her back her sight but a way so she doesnt consume her life by sensing aether.

They damn well better not pull that. When they killed Hauchefaunt(sp) and Moenbryda, they made a huge deal out of both, making them serious events. What they've done here is just 'oh hey, one of your most important characters is blind now..have fun with that and dont worry, it wont be more than a footnote'. Anything less than a way for us to completely restore her eyes is just outright insulting.

[Arienal]

'rude' and 'insensitive' be damned. if a dear friend of mine had clearly suffered i would do whatever i could to find out what happened and how to help her. The Cnj storyline tells us that what she's doing is outright FATAL if used too long, but so long as its stopped before that point, its not permanently damaging. There is absolutely nothing acceptable with this outright crippling of the core characters that have been with us since day one, and blinding her is in every sense of the word, CRIPPLING. Just as Fenral stated, im sick and tired of the whole 'development through scarring' junk, these are characters that are incredibly important to the WoL and carrying the story as a whole, as the nature of the game means the WoL cant do so themselves.