What are your crazy theories after Endwalker

[Fenral]

I think you are confusing personality change with character development here. Personality change is a common trait used to show character developement but it is not actual character develop but a easier way to show it if you understand what I am trying to say.

A character can go through his/her own character development while maintaining their original personality. G'raha himself literally went through this from 2.0 Crystal tower raid story to his return in 5.0 Shadowbringer. His Exarch personality and experience may have developed him greatly but his personality was still very much the same from his 2.0 days. He just had little time to show it to others until WoL appeared on the First due to how focuserd he was on his mission.

I'm sorry to confuse you. I think you just lost sight of the larger context required to understand what I was getting at.

I don't disagree with the sentiment that he needs a break (I even said as much myself in another thread), I even think there are obstacles that could arise naturally to pull him into the background for a time (losing the Allagan Eye, for one). I just don't think having him pull a Lyse and become a leader figure, in a region he has already said he has no intention of settling down in, would be a natural development, nor do I think there's anything that could believably happen to him off-screen that could enable that turn as a natural character development, short of replacing his personality.

The Exarch worked because, at the end of the day, he still retained that baseline desire to go on adventures with his hero. His lifelong dream is continued participation in FFXIV's narrative. To replace that with another goal (i.e. restoring the G as nunh) would be to suggest that his original goal was somehow deficient. Sure, there are players who don't like him, and maybe even want him dead and gone, but the story has never framed his desire to be this wandering altruistic figure alongside another wandering altruistic figure as anything but worthy. Adventures are best when shared.

For a really old and well-known comparison, take Dogi from the Ys series. He appears in almost every game in some capacity (except Ys II), and has been Adol's formal traveling companion since Ys III (well, IV but that timeline is a mess). He didn't settle down in his hometown in Felghana, and after 35 years (well, only 7 in-universe) nobody keeping up with the series really questions his presence anymore. If there's a wall, he'll be there to crush it. It's what he does.

We're definitely going to Corvos, and G'raha is definitely coming with us. I just prefer to think we won't be leaving him there.

[EdwinLi]

I'm sorry to confuse you. I think you just lost sight of the larger context required to understand what I was getting at.

I don't disagree with the sentiment that he needs a break (I even said as much myself in another thread), I even think there are obstacles that could arise naturally to pull him into the background for a time (losing the Allagan Eye, for one). I just don't think having him pull a Lyse and become a leader figure, in a region he has already said he has no intention of settling down in, would be a natural development, nor do I think there's anything that could believably happen to him off-screen that could enable that turn as a natural character development, short of replacing his personality.

The Exarch worked because, at the end of the day, he still retained that baseline desire to go on adventures with his hero. His lifelong dream is continued participation in FFXIV's narrative. To replace that with another goal (i.e. restoring the G as nunh) would be to suggest that his original goal was somehow deficient. Sure, there are players who don't like him, and maybe even want him dead and gone, but the story has never framed his desire to be this wandering altruistic figure alongside another wandering altruistic figure as anything but worthy. Adventures are best when shared.

For a really old and well-known comparison, take Dogi from the Ys series. He appears in almost every game in some capacity (except Ys II), and has been Adol's formal traveling companion since Ys III (well, IV but that timeline is a mess). He didn't settle down in his hometown in Felghana, and after 35 years (well, only 7 in-universe) nobody keeping up with the series really questions his presence anymore. If there's a wall, he'll be there to crush it. It's what he does.

We're definitely going to Corvos, and G'raha is definitely coming with us. I just prefer to think we won't be leaving him there.

I personally don't think he abaddon his dream to go on adventures with WoL but this issue has been on his mind despite not speaking about it. It feels more like this was a personal matter he wanted to deal with first before setting out on his dream which he should follow through in Season 2 once he returns.

6.1 to 6.55 is meant to be the Prologue for Season 2 after all so I expected that during this time SE and Yoshi-P may use this to settle personal matters with certain characters, like G'raha, so they can determine which one of the Scions will return first during 7.0 both for plot reasons and to determine which character are going to be in the Trust for 7.X era. Along with show the aftermath of Endwalker events on Eorzea and maybe a bit on how the Final Days affect the Unknown regions we will go to in Season 2.

I also expect we may meet one or two of the new companions in 6.1 to 6.55 since they may seek to set the stage for the locations we are going to in 7.0 and the Season 2 plot through this new companion for WoL.

Scion return wise for 7.0, I expect G'raha to be the first since we did make a promise to him about going on another adventure with him so 6.1 to 6.55 may focus a bit about G'raha settling his personal matters before WoL starts his/her journey into the new regions in 7.0 so he can be there when WoL begins his/her new adventure. My other guess is Thancred and Urianger mostly due to how their reason for splitting up with the group is to go on their own adventure which most likely may lead to their return either during Prologue (aka 6.1 to 6.55) or during 7.0 during some moment when they make a heroic return.