[Spoilers] The Patch 4.2 Discussion and Speculation Thread!

[Alleo]

Asahi is likely to be an antagonist, I feel. He's the cousin of Yotsuyu and we know that her family turned a blind eye to her torment. I'll be disappointed if Doma's sins end up being linked to Garlemald itself as that would be quite a cheap cop out - though I'd prefer Asahi to be an antagonist over a protagonist as I want the 'Larsa' figure to be a Pureblood Garlean.

I have my doubts that Asahi is the same individual shown clenching their fist in Garlemald's palace. Could that individual show up and expose Asahi as a fraud?

Honestly it should be a family sin or maybe a neighbor sin but its not the fault of the whole Doma that someone is abused. Even in our world people are having bad experiences and I am quite sure that one should not accuse a whole nation for that. Yes there might be a bit of a "family stuff remains with the family" mentality but this is still no reason to blame all Domans for that. They might learn from this by trying to stop such things happening but it truly would be utopia to have a country free of that stuff. And lets not forget that they were under the rule of Garlemald at that time so who knows how far that influenced the people. (And no I am not saying that Garlemald should be blamed for that, its still the family that threated her that way.)

[Belhi]

Honestly it should be a family sin or maybe a neighbor sin but its not the fault of the whole Doma that someone is abused. Even in our world people are having bad experiences and I am quite sure that one should not accuse a whole nation for that. Yes there might be a bit of a "family stuff remains with the family" mentality but this is still no reason to blame all Domans for that. They might learn from this by trying to stop such things happening but it truly would be utopia to have a country free of that stuff. And lets not forget that they were under the rule of Garlemald at that time so who knows how far that influenced the people. (And no I am not saying that Garlemald should be blamed for that, its still the family that threated her that way.)

You are right that in Yotsuyu's specific case each individual Doman shouldn't be considered guilty as such. However there are two important points regarding Yotsuyu's story.

The first is that what happened to Yotsuyu was legally done. Those with power allowed it. She was sold at a young age as a bride to an abusive man and when he died sold again to a brothel. Regardless of the reasons of why it was done, it was allowed. At the very least that makes Hein's father partially culpable. Add to that that assuming her comments are right, her pleas for help were met with people telling her to put up with it. That suggests a culture that looks the other way. This isn't that far fetched considering how we see the Domans and even the Ala Mhigans acting under Garlean rule. However remember the first time we see Yotsuyu? She gives a man a gun and tells him to kill his neighbours and then his parents. I think that was intentional. Its easy to accept what is necessary to survive when it is someone else having to pay the price. Its much harder when its things you care about.

The Second, and this is connected to the first, is that Yotsuyu is almost certainly not a unique case. She was just placed in a position where her story came to light. In a society where a woman can be forced into prostitution or sold off like a slave you honestly think she was the only person it happened to? If she hadn't been given soldiers we probably would have never found out. Yotsuyu is a indicator of potentially the true sin of Doma, the willingness to accept injustice for the sake of peace and safety.

Part of the reason I suspect this is the direction it is going is Goesetsu. We know he did slaughtered people for the Garleans at the orders of his Lord. Doing so placated the Garleans and helped keep Doma safe but if you came at this whole situation from the direction of Goesetsu's victims you would probably see the samurai in a very different light right now.

[LineageRazor]

On the topic of whether Varis's overtures are trustworthy, I don't feel like the Emperor should be expected to personally appeal his case. That's what ambassadors are FOR. For the Emperor to make a personal appearance is a ridiculous and unnecessary risk. He's an INCREDIBLE target of opportunity. I still feel that his personal appearance in the Sea of Clouds was kind of silly, and barely justified by the fact that it was unexpected and in a place where foes were sparse (Ishgard was, at that point, neutral as far as Garlean relations went). For Varis himself to personally meet with an enemy with whom his nation is at open war, he'd need to bring a ridiculously large force of guards - and at that point, it'd be foolishly dangerous for us to meet with them. No, sending an ambassador is not an indication that Varis is taking the alliance lightly.

However, I do think that the possibility is still strong that Varis is setting a trap. While Zenos might have been a "failed experiment", it's uncertain that the Resonance was. If Aulus's findings were shared with the Empire, Varis might well consider us to now be expendable. Even if Resonance has side effects, it still produced individuals like Fordola, who was extremely formidable. The Empire almost certainly doesn't know about her "forced Echo" fits - and even if they did, I'm sure they could dredge up soldiers with a lot less empathy than she has. After all, she's only suffering because she feels guilty about the atrocities she perpetrated and was now forced to relive from the perspective of her victims; a sociopath wouldn't have that weakness.

Basically, Varis might consider the Resonance to be "good enough", and is now set to take out his most formidable enemy: the Warrior of Light.

On the topic of Yotsuyu, I don't think we have enough information to place the blame for her situation at the feet of Doman law, or even of Doman custom. We don't really know how legal or customary her treatment was. Certainly it's the case that even in real-world, civilized nations, some families will sell their children into prostitution even though it's far from legal or customary. The fact that Yotsuyu DID decide to enact vengeance on Domans in general hints that it's a known and tolerated phenomenon - but it could just as easily be the case that there's little logic in how she chose to lash out. She wanted to see people suffer, just as she had suffered, and Domans were a convenient target.

Honestly, though, that Yotsuyu is dead, so the debate is of little importance. As for Yotsuyu now, I doubt that she's faking her amnesia, and I'm interested to see what interactions she'll have with Asahi, a ghost from her past, when most of her past is now gone. If she's regressed to childhood, was she on good terms with her cousin before she was sold off for his benefit? And on Asahi's part, does he feel any guilt for the way that his high position was gained by trampling on his cousin? If he does feel guilty, and comes face to face with Yotsuyu when she was still young and trusting, it could be interesting indeed...