[SPOILERS] Stormblood Ending

[DarthSanguine]

What about his deceased father, Solus? lol

Grandfather. And he had a beard.

[Theodric]

I took the scene with Elidibus to be a case of him adopting a new look in that very moment. We didn't see the face for ourselves, only the Emperor's reaction - but I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Elidibus ends up getting a new model next time we see him to reflect the fact that he's taking on a new appearance.

[Kallera]

I took the scene with Elidibus to be a case of him adopting a new look in that very moment. We didn't see the face for ourselves, only the Emperor's reaction - but I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Elidibus ends up getting a new model next time we see him to reflect the fact that he's taking on a new appearance.

Question, is there anyone who has a face both Varis and our characters saw in the game, that would garner this sort of reaction from Varis? Remember that we never saw Regula's face...so the revelation Varis had here would be lost on us.

At first I wrote it off, but the more I think about it, it might be the purple haired scientist...that sort of information that he got regarding the echo and how to extract and transplant it in others(to say nothing of that soul trick) would be of great use to Elidibus, assuming he didn't know it already.

[Koti]

I am in agreement that it is Gaius behind the mask. Only because if you believe that each Legion represents a FF Game and thus the story kind of follows that flow of that Final Fantasy...

Gaius Van Baelsar is of the 14th Legion. He is our game's guy. To kill him, is kinda like-- killing the main dude imo. That and he has the most promotional art as well and we don't know much, really, about him. Outside he was kind of the god father to Cid and he hated Nael van Darnus and what Nael was trying to do. To the point he helped bring down an airship just so we, the adventurer, could get the plans to stop Nael's madness.

So, I think-- we are gonna have to save Gaius from mister Ascian...

And lets face it, we all know the real bad guys are not the Garlean Empire in the end, but are the Ascians themselves; Or something far larger.

[Fenral]

Would you be fine if people in the real life will get away with stuff because they have a sad past? This is not robbery or not taking revenge on exactly the people that made her past horrible, she killed people only because they were born in this country. I am quite sure that you did not kill someone in cold blood in real life, otherwise you would not be writing. And since its a different time killing innocent people would normaly be a death sentence.

I never said that the things she's done are excused by her tragic past. I'm saying that it's important to believe that people like her can change, can be redeemed, and that can't happen when they're dead. That's also the entire reason Lyse tries to save Zenos.

[Gaiussenpai]

I never said that the things she's done are excused by her tragic past. I'm saying that it's important to believe that people like her can change, can be redeemed, and that can't happen when they're dead. That's also the entire reason Lyse tries to save Zenos.

I'm pretty sure the Alliance would execute him if not out right humiliate him.

[Theodric]

I'm pretty sure the Alliance would execute him if not out right humiliate him.

Yeah. They didn't appear to have any intention of letting Zenos live or atone. Which is understandable - he didn't just screw over his enemies he actively tormented his own allies as well. Someone like that is much too dangerous to keep alive - and unlike with Yotsuyu and Fordola there isn't any real reason to sympathise with him. Unless you consider the fact that killing him would be a mercy because he was a monster. His own father considered him as such - so keeping him alive as a hostage would likely work out pretty poorly as well.

Lyse did say that even Zenos was 'innocent' once - but I didn't read into that as it being a case of her wanting to show him mercy.

[Chione]

...[Zenos] didn't just screw over his enemies he actively tormented his own allies as well. Someone like that is much too dangerous to keep alive - and unlike with Yotsuyu and Fordola there isn't any real reason to sympathise with him..

This sort of thinking bothers me. You'd only allow her sympathy even though everything you said about Yotsuyu applies to Zenos. Have you forgotten what she did to her 'brute'?

They're both psychologically scarred and dangerous individuals. Both products of childhood trauma and neglect. If you doubt the case for Zenos, look at your own post for the evidence. If the son wasn't born a monster, but the father called him one, who do you figure made him that way? Then again, he didn't get the benefit of a past-pitying monologue or echo scene, so now I'm gonna have to step up and defend him outright ain't I? Damn you.

As far as I'm concerned, the important differences between these two lie in the end product, not their trauma. Yotsuyu boasted about the satisfaction of watching a Doman man die in agony before her. She manipulated and murdered farmers and fishermen, and she reveled in their suffering. When faced with the chance to do the same, Zenos let them live. He turned and let them run away, and smiled as they did it. He clearly only craved conflict with people who could actually challenge him and he didn't seem all that interested in hurting or killing anyone who couldn't fight back. While he did cruelly cut down his soldiers for stupid reasons (That's just how Garlemald do, right Nero?) he didn't seem to delight in their pain. Instead he seemed to seek his own. He wanted to get hurt. And when we finally somehow managed to hurt him, he confused the sensation with pure joy. That's just messed up.

But it is the kind of messed up I could understand. It's the kind I'd rather deal with, given the choice. Yotsuyu's is the sort that results in the senseless slaughter of unarmed villagers based on their nationality alone. That kind of crazy isn't the sort I'd ever sympathize with - crocodile tears or no.

Too bad for me that the writers didn't feel the same, I guess. Regardless of my strong opinion on this, it appears that my character will probably be railroaded into a very different one. Yours, in fact. And here I thought post-credit scenes were supposed to make you eager for what comes next.

Not this time. Not for me.

[MochaTia]

It struck me as very strange that the game was very open to letting the player interpret Fordola's fervor and justifications as the excuses and hypocrisy they were (she craved showing up and hurting those that would belittle or humiliate her, and freedom was just a pretext for it instilled in her by the warped mentality being raised under occupation and propaganda gave her) and even imply this was the case with her interactions with Lyse, yet they give Yotsuyo a ridiculous scene of her crying and everyone being silent and serious at her sob story rather than someone declaring it the cheap excuse to indulge her sadism that it was.

[Theodric]

Well, Yoshi-P is on record stating that Zenos is someone we're not meant to sympathise with. So take that as you will.

As for Yotsuyu? I'd argue she had it worse than either Zenos or Fordola. The former grew up as royalty and had an immense amount of strength. Fordola was looked down upon but she had the strength to defend herself. Yotsuyu didn't - she wasn't a fighter. She was sexually abused and physically assaulted by her own people. Since we saw her origins through the echo it's hardly just a 'sob story' and her crying as the castle fell down around her appeared to be genuine. Zenos never really showed any remorse for his actions. Still, thankfully morality is much more nuanced and complicated than many here like to believe and portray.

I'm sure the continuation of Fordola's and Yotsuyu's stories will be bittersweet and very interesting.