Revelations from Patch 5.2

[Mieck]

More than ten

Does which of the role quest characters comes by to your room change depending on whose name you say, or is it always Granson? If it's always Granson I don't want to rewatch the cutscene to choose another name if I don't have to.

It's whoever you say.

[JeanneOrnitier]

It's whoever you say.

I definitely need to go back and see the last option in particular then.

More commentary on the scene at the end of the dungeon:

To further support my theory that Venat is Zenos's friend, another character named Venat helped another emperor's son in another FF game: Venat the Occuria and Vayne in FF12.

All of the other Ascians, bar Hythlodaeus, have been named after Espers from FF12's mythos. That Venat is not but is instead named after one of the main antagonists of 12 makes me think we should read into that name more than the others.

[Lium]

Ruby Weapon

They are really pushing the Gaius redemption arc pretty hard. Now he has kids, and we just killed one of them. The rest are headed down the same path, which is essentially a gruesome death.

I like Gaius but again, this is the same guy that ordered a bunch of Scions slaughtered.

Also, we find out that Livia was also someone he took in and trained to be a warrior. Yet it was clear they had a romantic relationship. I’m guessing he took her in as an adult? Hopefully...

[redheadturk]

Ruby Weapon

They are really pushing the Gaius redemption arc pretty hard. Now he has kids, and we just killed one of them. The rest are headed down the same path, which is essentially a gruesome death.

I like Gaius but again, this is the same guy that ordered a bunch of Scions slaughtered.

Also, we find out that Livia was also someone he took in and trained to be a warrior. Yet it was clear they had a romantic relationship. I’m guessing he took her in as an adult? Hopefully...

Livia's relationship with Gaius always struck me as being something closer to a one sided obsession than something mutual.

[Tlamila]

Ruby Weapon

They are really pushing the Gaius redemption arc pretty hard. Now he has kids, and we just killed one of them. The rest are headed down the same path, which is essentially a gruesome death.

I like Gaius but again, this is the same guy that ordered a bunch of Scions slaughtered.

Also, we find out that Livia was also someone he took in and trained to be a warrior. Yet it was clear they had a romantic relationship. I’m guessing he took her in as an adult? Hopefully...

About her...

I don't think they had a romantic relationship, it seems to me that she was very much infatuated with him but very one-way so, in fact in Castrum she complains how you took him away from her and she seems all kinda crazy about him. But regardless yeah, I'd think she took her in as a grown up, in any case I'd take hers as an infatuation for a benefactor.

[YianKutku]

About her...

I don't think they had a romantic relationship, it seems to me that she was very much infatuated with him but very one-way so, in fact in Castrum she complains how you took him away from her and she seems all kinda crazy about him. But regardless yeah, I'd think she took her in as a grown up, in any case I'd take hers as an infatuation for a benefactor.

About Livia:

Implicitly contradicted by Livia's lorebook profile, though:

Robbed of her parents at a young age, the Garlean girl was taken in by Gaius, who had known her father. Though leaving behind her younger sister Lucia was difficult, Livia found Gaius to be a stern but thoughtful guardian. In time, Livia came to see him as more than an adoptive parent, and joined the army to follow in his footsteps, where she eventually became his right hand.

(Page 185 of EE1)

Given Livia made a name for herself in putting down a rebellion in Dalmasca (the Barheim Incident), she would have been rather high-ranking in the XIVth at the time. And given her age at the time of ARR (and her death) was twenty-six, either she was so talented that she shot up through the ranks like no other (I don't believe Gaius would have committed nepotism, or he'd be a far worse person than my already low opinion of him) between being hypothetically adopted as an adult, or she joined the military at a young age and progressed through the ranks as per usual (if rather quickly).

For comparison, Milisandia of the Ruby Weapon was reportedly 30, four years older than Livia.

As for the "one-sided infatuation", there was the point in the middle of the ARR MSQ where we saw a cutscene of Gaius delivering his New World Order speech, and then tells Livia "my quarters, one hour". Which was really creepy at the time, since it basically meant Gaius was going "we shall usher Eorzea into a new age of order! Also I'm horny."

[Tlamila]

About Livia:

Implicitly contradicted by Livia's lorebook profile, though:



(Page 185 of EE1)

Given Livia made a name for herself in putting down a rebellion in Dalmasca (the Barheim Incident), she would have been rather high-ranking in the XIVth at the time. And given her age at the time of ARR (and her death) was twenty-six, either she was so talented that she shot up through the ranks like no other (I don't believe Gaius would have committed nepotism, or he'd be a far worse person than my already low opinion of him) between being hypothetically adopted as an adult, or she joined the military at a young age and progressed through the ranks as per usual (if rather quickly).

For comparison, Milisandia of the Ruby Weapon was reportedly 30, four years older than Livia.

As for the "one-sided infatuation", there was the point in the middle of the ARR MSQ where we saw a cutscene of Gaius delivering his New World Order speech, and then tells Livia "my quarters, one hour". Which was really creepy at the time, since it basically meant Gaius was going "we shall usher Eorzea into a new age of order! Also I'm horny."

Uh ok thank you, I guess I had completely forgotten certain things.

[Wyssahtyn]

For comparison, Milisandia of the Ruby Weapon was reportedly 30, four years older than Livia.

When was that mentioned? Don't recall any of their ages being stated.

[MrThinker]

When was that mentioned? Don't recall any of their ages being stated.

There is a report file at Porta Praetoria near where the Weapon guy is. It has info on Ruby Weapon, Gaius and Milisandia.

[LineageRazor]

On that point:

In the group discussion Venat does say -

"We must ask ourselves a simple question: are we prepared to pursue our chosen course, even should it mean suffering the eternal condemnation of our brethren? If so, I see no further reason to demur"

Wouldn't that suggest that they were very much aware of the consequences of summoning and considered the sundering as a highly likely, if not inevitable, consequence that they were willing to accept? For such a statement to then be followed up by the admittance that they were making the monumental decision even though very few agreed with it, doesn't show them in a favourable light right now.

It depends on how you read it.

Is she saying that their brethren are going to be condemned, and they (the dissenters) will suffer for it (presumably from the guilt of it all)? Or does it say that they (the dissenters) will be condemned by their brethren (for daring to stand against Zodiark and the will of the Convocation)?

In English, at least, the meaning of the sentence could go either way. Not sure how it reads in other languages.

and can somebody explain to me why ice would bring back plants?

Well, Ice Aether brings firmness and stability. Plants don't grow very well when they have the consistency of water. :P

Really, though, I think the writers were going for something like, "All elements in harmony contribute to life, so you can't have life until the last one's in place." So nothing specific about Ice, just that it was the last piece of the puzzle.

so basically they ruined a staele forever for no reason whatsoever instead of just waiting. Awesome. I guess that's what we get when devs try to give us choices but do it sloppily

In fairness, it's not so much about them being bad historians...

...as it is about them putting complete and utter faith in the Great Serpent. An almost fanatically religious faith. If the Serpent says the WoL can pick out the right answer, then and there, with no further excavation necessary, then by golly, the WoL can do just that. And the Great Serpent was absolutely correct! We got the answer spot-on. The Serpent Knows! So, sure are they in the infallibility of the Serpent, they got to work on restoring the artifact right then and there.

It's true that, in real life, secular historians would condemn religious historians that took such actions "because God told them so". And if there were any secular historians in this setting, they might, as well. And then look pretty silly for doing it. Because this is a fantasy world, with real gods in it (or, at least, poorly understood but potent supernatural beings who might as well be gods).

About the MSQ

I keep forgetting that when an Ascian possess a body they gain that person's memories. Since Elidibus was in Zenos' body for a while then he must know about the dreams he's been having. Not really sure if that will play a role in anything, but maybe its one of the reason why he told Zenos about everything and left. He knew who Zenos soul belong to?

Alternatively:

Perhaps when a Resonant possesses a body that an Ascian has been using, the Resonant gets some access to that Ascian's memories! The dreams Zenos is having could be memories from Elidibus's life, during the Final Days.

About Livia:

Implicitly contradicted by Livia's lorebook profile, though:



(Page 185 of EE1)

Given Livia made a name for herself in putting down a rebellion in Dalmasca (the Barheim Incident), she would have been rather high-ranking in the XIVth at the time. And given her age at the time of ARR (and her death) was twenty-six, either she was so talented that she shot up through the ranks like no other (I don't believe Gaius would have committed nepotism, or he'd be a far worse person than my already low opinion of him) between being hypothetically adopted as an adult, or she joined the military at a young age and progressed through the ranks as per usual (if rather quickly).

For comparison, Milisandia of the Ruby Weapon was reportedly 30, four years older than Livia.

As for the "one-sided infatuation", there was the point in the middle of the ARR MSQ where we saw a cutscene of Gaius delivering his New World Order speech, and then tells Livia "my quarters, one hour". Which was really creepy at the time, since it basically meant Gaius was going "we shall usher Eorzea into a new age of order! Also I'm horny."

For what it's worth...

...my headcannon for their situation is pretty much that Livia rose to her ranks through her own merits. She became infatuated with Gaius, and while Gaius doesn't feel the same way about her, he's willing to indulge her sexually because it makes her happy. The "my quarters, one hour" isn't for his own benefit - he's letting Livia know that he's penciled her into his schedule, an opportunity she's likely extremely enthusiastic about capitalizing on.

Is it a screwed-up relationship? Probably. But I don't think we're looking at an abuse of authority. It's all Livia's prerogative, and Gaius is just going along with it. Because why not? A happy Livia is a hard-working Livia!