6.0 Story Speculations

[Anonymoose]

Yes, a nice song written long before the reality of what Hydaelyn is and what she's done was shown,

I'm thinking more "it's the lore the writers are going back to to make sense of this" - the beginning is the end, they even used the Starshower.

We can't help it because this is the world she created.

And yet the reins of history are (more or less) in the hands of man whenever nobody's kicking Her in the shins. You said yourself she only does anything when an Umbral Calamity is on the horizon. When the Ascians aren't around She just goes to sleep and leaves us be. Like, I can get that compared to the lives the Ancients led, ours seem short and cruel. They also happen to look just like the lives we humans actually live. Regardless of its origin, the world we're fighting for in Hydaelyn's name is modeled on the one we can most identify with, Earth, because almost every story we've ever been told about what it means to be alive takes place here. Even the name "Eorzea" shares the same etymological root as "Earth".

I'm willing to wait to hear Her side of the story. It's not Her fault SE didn't write one before the last time she talked to us, lol.

In what way was that narrative not set up in Shadowbringers?

I'm suggesting it didn't set up the "you have no free will and the one thing we told you was good is bad" part very well, by having all of your antagonists have understandable motivations that are ultimately irrelevant in the "they need to die" consideration while not letting you, the hero, "taint yourself" in the slightest way by consorting with real Darkness even when it made sense to do so for the greater good. Hydaelyn may be flawed but if she was truly that despicable, that was the time to start building up to the crescendo.

Seems to me that Hydaelyn's purpose isn't protecting lives, but protecting the stability of the world.

I don't disagree, while I don't think those are mutually exclusive. But if this is meant to be a report to a point I made, I would ask, "Protect the stability of the world from... [who]? Because they intend to destabilize it by... [doing what]?

Primals aren't automatons. Ramuh was able to look at the situation and conclude WoL was worth entrusting the protection of the Sylphs to, same for Alexander, Louisoix gave up on his task as Phoenix, even Yotsuyu let go of her spite at the end. Why should we think that Hydaelyn truly believed what she was saying instead of lying about it? And if she does really think of herself as a true god who justly excised the covetous darkness while using her own servants (as she explicitly compares to the Ascians serving Zodiark) to enact her will, why exactly should she be treated differently than any other Primal?

Of these examples, Ramuh is described by Square Enix as being an oddity among primals whose true nature has yet to be explained. Moreover, he was imbued by his summoners with the traits of a wise judge who makes righteous decisions, and the Ascians were shocked he assented to the Warrior of Light. Alexander was summoned to be a perfect calculator and it, too, overcame its summoners' biases and doubled down on the Warrior of Light. Meanwhile Louisoix tells you Phoenix was "no true primal", and Yotusyu's change in demeanor was suggested by Zenos to be because she tempered herself during her own summoning and then it faded upon the death of that identity.

I'm not entirely confident at this point that Hydaelyn does think of Herself as the one true god. I think anyone actually tempered by her would. Hydaelyn Herself says only that she's "all made one," whatever that means. Meanwhile Elidibus and Lahabrea called Zodiark the one true god incessantly and I'm not sure if Zodiark Himself thinks so either. It's awkward that his heart did it also logically follows vis a vis the energy symbiosis thing.

Just a minor correction here:

"Negate" was a poor choice of words, I agree. "Contain the influence of" is closer to the connotation I intended.
You're correct to stress that were never going to cancel it out. (Thanks for helping with that, Emet!)

What I mean is, while early speculations of the mechanics don't quite pan out to be entirely accurate, is it not fair to say that without our gifts, our soul would not have been strong enough to accomplish the task? That the Echo / Blessing / Champion Factor's ability to make the walls of the soul more permeable and enhances its potential for strength is what made it possible? I was going to quote G'raha but the line I want seems to have fallen out of my pocket.