[Spoilers] The general crackpot and head-canon thread

[CyrilLucifer]

Oh, I actually have a defense of that crackpot, too!

Think of our character. We've been loyal little Hydaelyn servants, beloved children, Blessed and Gifted. Basically, we're Hydaelyn's special snowflake.

And even we didn't even know what we were fighting against until 3.2 - and even then our knowledge is very incomplete.

I see no reason why it isn't the same for the Ascians, especially because Zodiark has been in such a weakened state. I'm not sure if I would go as far as to say that everything the Ascians know is due to Elidibus teaching them, but I think on the scale of 1 to Special Snowflake, the Black-robed Overlord might rank up there around 8, the Lessers around 5, and Elidibus right at the top with us as the Special Snowflake.

Er, anyway. Point being, given how quiet Hydaelyn has been with Her will, it's possible Zodiark is equally quiet and, like us, the black-robed Ascians believe themselves to be fulfilling His will based on vague visions and broken communication. However, they have had longer with that vague communication, so the pieces to their puzzle are far more fleshed out than ours.

[Berethos]

That's pretty much my line of thinking with it, with the sprinkled in idea that Elidibus is a Zodiark-ish form of the WOTM (so WOTF...and I really want to shorten that, heh).

Hmm...

With the other crack pot theory combined to it, I could totally see "end game" somehow being the birth of two new deities, watching over "this very star" in a sort of balanced equilibrium. Yeah, that means Minfilia and Elidibus end up as the new goddess and god of this world. Bonus crackpot - Elidibus knows this is the goal, and thought Minfilia to be the most likely candidate way back when he first introduced himself to her and before Hydaelyn had called her to her side to begin the process.

Bonus silly crackpot - he's actually really handsome, and Minfilia would totally be okay with being a deity along with him if she saw what was under the mask.

[CyrilLucifer]

About that latter part. . .

I actually have a Nabriales retainer cough. because you can see his features rather in-depth in-game; he has about the same amount of cutscenes with his face uncovered as he has with it covered and only one Midlander face has the sideburns, so it's easily to determine what he looks like.

All I can tell of Elidibus and Lahabrea is that Lahabrea has a more feminine facial structure with fuller lips on the Astral to Umbral album cover.

I would be okay with that end-game, returning to balance and stability as it should be, with everyone living happily ever after. Not even sarcasm. Minfilia can have Second Best Ascian.

[Hinoto-no-Ryuji]

I don't have any big head-canon theories for the huge, existential plot threads (I'm basically taking that as it comes), but I have thought a lot about the Raen Au Ra, mostly while constructing a backstory for my character.

I currently have them pegged as an Edo-period-Japan-esque society, at least in broad strokes - a formerly-fractured society that had, after a long period of conflict, become (relatively) peaceful and isolated, with a stratified society ruled by members of the former warrior class and based on role. A lot of the stuff in the name conventions seem to point to that. They likely hail from Doma (similar naming conventions to the Doman refugees we meet), but don't interact with the Hyuran Domans to any great degree; this is why Yugiri is the only Au Ra with the refugees. Being from Doma (or anywhere in Othard, really) means that they're currently under Garlean occupation, though I've toyed with the idea that their isolationism has led to non-interventionism and several communities exist outside the Garlean sphere of influence, hidden and keeping to themselves in the local mountains and forests (though it's pretty unlikely that Garlemald would allow anything other than a puppet Shogunate to exist).

Speaking of Yugiri, it's also my head-canon that she was raised among Hyur and completely apart from any fellow Au Ra, which accounts for her caution in revealing her appearance in Eorzea. In my case, this is doubly apt, because it would explain why she didn't immediately identify Ryuji as a fellow Raen (sexual dimorphism, and all that).

[CyrilLucifer]

I've been a bit hesitant to share this one, because I'm a bit ashamed of it, but meh, why not.

If you watch the scene with Nabriales uncovered and apparently not in a host, you'll notice that you get some pretty good close ups of his face. The shading isn't even that intense except intentionally over his eyes.

I mean, I sort of second guessed it, considering "maybe there's something different with his eyes" at some point - but then along comes 3.2. And what's the biggest physical difference with Minfilia? Her creepy Hydaelyn-doll eyes. I'm wondering is that's a trait they have as well, but with black or purple.

Alternatively, I'm drastically overthinking this.

[Kallera]

hmmm....

The Ascians of Derplander's world succeeded by staging their deaths to him, then continuing their work outside of his knowledge, eventually nailing him flatfooted with their world wrecking plan.

The basis for this is Derplander's method of killing the "last Ascian" in the 3.1 echo vision. Clearly he did this before, and that he was pretty confident in its success. It seems similar to what we used to "kill" Lahabrea in 2.0, only Lahabrea survives soon after.

Without any further research into how to kill the immortal soul of an Ascian, it would be pretty easy for the Ascians to put on a show of desparation, goading him and his allies into thinking that they are in the right track. The benefit being they lose the heat of being hunted by the warrior of light's allies, and, without tipping their hand again, pull off the rejoining (or whatever they wanted to do) before he is in any position to stop it. Once he finishes killing the "last Ascian", what need would there be to look for any more?

[CyrilLucifer]

Crackpot driven by being half asleep and ill -
So, how do we get Zodiark to play nice?
Making Elidibus merge with him probably wouldn't be the best idea, though I imagine Elidibus would want this.

But now, if we merged with him, as Hydaelyn did Minfilia, in attempt to moderate him and make him see logic?

. . .I'll see myself out. No more posting while sick.

[CyrusArjuna]

Crackpot driven by being half asleep and ill -
So, how do we get Zodiark to play nice?
Making Elidibus merge with him probably wouldn't be the best idea, though I imagine Elidibus would want this.

But now, if we merged with him, as Hydaelyn did Minfilia, in attempt to moderate him and make him see logic?

. . .I'll see myself out. No more posting while sick.

Maybe instead of Minfilia being included, the inclusion of the Blessing of Light + Zodiark's essence = new "Mother"crystal that stabilizes existence?

[cyborgmermaid]

My favorite guilty pleasure headcanon will forever be one from before 2.5, when ideas spread that the Warrior of Light was tempered by Midgardsormr during their Echo of the Battle of Silvertear Skies way, waaaaaaay back in the 1.0 intro cutscene, and that all this time we were unknowingly doing his bidding.

I still have a hard time letting go of this one, it fit so damned well back then.

[Dualblade]

Two baseless headcanons

1.) I actually had an idea that we indeed ARE connected to Zodiark in a way like Minfillia, IE we have a better connection to him then most would similar to how she has a better connection to Hydaelyn...its just surpressed by either Hydaelyn knowingly, or by accident since he's still sealed away. This mostly has to do with a (almost certainly not ever remotly possible for canon) backstory for my main character.

2.) Garlemald has many "sections" holding various peoples of conquered lands, somewhat similarly divided like VII's Midgar sections. Each one ends up/has ended up being named after a "hero of the people" AKA a member of conquered area's land who has done great service in the name of the Empire. Sections that hold a majority of one nation/race tend to see an increase of Empire loyalty because of this, while sections that are more mixed tend to see it end up being more negative. Again part of a highly unlikely to be backstory thing.