Predictions for 5.3?

[EdwinLi]

Kind of a late reply, but “Main villain is behind everything” is pretty common in FF. It’s a way to show how much influence they have, but either way it’s basically an FF trope. Just look at FFI where almost everything is Garland or the Four Fiends and so on.

The issue with the trope was not it was being used but it was being constantly repeated over and over again to a point that the story feels as if it is saying everything can be world peace, hugs, and no more wars between countries if Ascians never existed. A concept that we know can never happen because people are born with conflicting ideas, desires, and standards which even the MSQ does show how betray and ambition can be right around the corner without the Ascians being involved.

[MirronTulaxia]

I’m not sure how you got the Ascians as creating all evil whole cloth. It always read more like taking advantage of existing evil and pushing things harder.

[Crushnight]

I’m not sure how you got the Ascians as creating all evil whole cloth. It always read more like taking advantage of existing evil and pushing things harder.

This is how I see it too, one of our lowest points as a character was the Banquet sequence, a series of events that has shown no Ascian involvement whatsoever. This is one of the best bits in the story because it shows normal beings can affect us very effectively, no macguffins, just pure planning out.

So should the Ascians get permanently erased from the story, there can still be plenty of stakes new villians can bring in while being potentially weaker from a power standpoint, just small hypothetical would our character give themselves up as a prisoner if one of the scion's life was threatened right in front of us sort of like a knife in their back waiting for the plunge moment etc, i'd say we would until such a time we could secure everyone or we just break under the torment and we just don't care about the consequences.

[EdwinLi]

This is how I see it too, one of our lowest points as a character was the Banquet sequence, a series of events that has shown no Ascian involvement whatsoever. This is one of the best bits in the story because it shows normal beings can affect us very effectively, no macguffins, just pure planning out.

So should the Ascians get permanently erased from the story, there can still be plenty of stakes new villians can bring in while being potentially weaker from a power standpoint, just small hypothetical would our character give themselves up as a prisoner if one of the scion's life was threatened right in front of us sort of like a knife in their back waiting for the plunge moment etc, i'd say we would until such a time we could secure everyone or we just break under the torment and we just don't care about the consequences.

I speak more about how things we see not related to Ascians tend to end up leading into being a influence of Asican in X or Y way eventually at some point in the story. I honestly can't really discuss how I see the progress of the story since one matter from the past can be easily changed in a future storyline through a different perspective.

The only way i can describe how I see the story is that everything evil tends to lead back to Ascians in certain ways such as a Evil plot was only a thought and would have only stay a thought if the Ascians never whispered words into that person or a origin of a great evil would have never existsed if only the Ascians never got involved. Yes they will still be evil but one that would have never done what they did if the Ascians never got involved in their life.

It will be like if a future story plot reveals that the Banquet event will have never happened if a Ascian, either make himself known or pretending to be a unknown person, never whispered to Teledji certain words.

[MirronTulaxia]

Okay, but currently that isn't the case. And all the Ascians really do is give people the means to hoist themselves on their own petard. They give them tools, not motives. And it's the latter that causes the problem.

[Alleo]

Okay, but currently that isn't the case. And all the Ascians really do is give people the means to hoist themselves on their own petard. They give them tools, not motives. And it's the latter that causes the problem.

I agree that often the Ascians are just there pulling the strings from the shadows and letting people being people (with a bit of a push in the direction they want to) but they are also quite active too. Lets not forget that the founder of Garlemald as we know it was Emet (and probably the one behind Allagans too). They did not just give the means but they outright were the leaders there. Of course the people also ate up their talk about might makes right and all that stuff but unlike other countries they were not just behind the scenes. And being the leader of a nation is a huge influcence. Heck the actions of Garlemald influence Eorzea too with beast tribes turning to their primals.

It will be interesting to see how the world turns out if they are gone. Yes there will still be bad acts happening because there are still selfish horrible people out there. But I wonder if any countries as a whole will turn out as bad and war mongering as Garlemald.

[EdwinLi]

I agree that often the Ascians are just there pulling the strings from the shadows and letting people being people (with a bit of a push in the direction they want to) but they are also quite active too. Lets not forget that the founder of Garlemald as we know it was Emet (and probably the one behind Allagans too). They did not just give the means but they outright were the leaders there. Of course the people also ate up their talk about might makes right and all that stuff but unlike other countries they were not just behind the scenes. And being the leader of a nation is a huge influcence. Heck the actions of Garlemald influence Eorzea too with beast tribes turning to their primals.

It will be interesting to see how the world turns out if they are gone. Yes there will still be bad acts happening because there are still selfish horrible people out there. But I wonder if any countries as a whole will turn out as bad and war mongering as Garlemald.

This is a topic that will get very complicated when getting deep into it because it is a "Who is more evil? The person who use it or the person who gave the person the means knowing they will use it?" both are evil but options will differ if this is discusses farther.

Not to mention the topic of "if their life may have taken a different course if he or she never was given the means or push to do that evil or not by X or Y person?" However, the best I can explain it, that is a Kirei Kotomine (from fate series) scenario where he will end up a Mapo Tofu restaurant owner, still evil but evil in a lesser and different way, simply because Kiritsugu never caused the events of Fate/Zero that push him to cause Fate/Stay Night events because Kiritsugu chose to save his family over his Hero beliefs. Still that is a questionable scenario as well since we don't know if X evil or Y Evil person already had or had not the means nor was he doubting or not doubting the ability to act.

[Alleo]

This is a topic that will get very complicated when getting deep into it because it is a "Who is more evil? The person who use it or the person who gave the person the means knowing they will use it?" both are evil but options will differ if this is discusses farther.

I dont even want to go in the direction of discussing who is more evil in that. My point was to show that Ascians are not just in the shadows but that they are actively influencing the world by being leaders of countries (and giving them the necessary knowledge to raise higher). And with such a huge influence they can shape the world even better.

In my post I was agreeing with you that without the Ascians we might have quite a different world because they were also active in it. So who knows how Garlemald would have turned out without them directly ruling it.

[MrThinker]

With that 5.3 image posted in the newest Letter from the Producer, I'ma speculate that the dwarf tribe storyline has something to do with building tanks.

That or YorHa: Dark Apocalypse is going on a zany story route.

[EdwinLi]

With that 5.3 image posted in the newest Letter from the Producer, I'ma speculate that the dwarf tribe storyline has something to do with building tanks.

That or YorHa: Dark Apocalypse is going on a zany story route.

watch that tank become a Mount.