What's the point with that quite lackluster story in Endwalker?

[CrownySuccubus]

I've thought about this way too much, honestly. I think the only time I've seen emotion from the Scions in regards to the origins of everything is when we find out about the true nature of Zodiark and Hydaelyn and they look quite shocked. And while their disinterest in anything besides what they're dealing with at that moment is aggravating, what frustrates me most of all is how uninterested our own character is in learning more about themselves or even, at the most basic of levels, learning more about how to use their own powers. Zenos calls us out on it and all I could do was laugh and agree with him. So annoying that 10 years in and we've only just learned how to control Echo memory dives and who knows if we truly have. We'll have to wait and see whether we continue with the migraines in the future.

Our character can seldom be anything but the "muscle" of the story. The Scions are the ones with the scholarly backgrounds and education about the minutiae of things around the world. They're the ones who can get us transport to Thavnair, they're the ones who can create the soul crystal to control Allegan tech, they're the ones who learn life lessons to "defeat" despair. The WOL is, and forever will remain, a blank slate, because they need us to self-insert into them.

The sole, and exceedingly rare, glimpses of an exception are when you are a multi-class character and someone says something that dips into one of your classes, and you get a new dialogue option to speak up on it. However, by their very nature, these options don't apply anything more than extra flavor, because what if you DIDN'T level up some other class or do an optional quest? Really, I think one option they should try is letting players skip certain quest objectives if they have such an expertise (for example, maybe we don't need to go around checking a bunch of books if we've already got a Scholar leveled), but...again, that risks cutting into the bare minimum padding the devs think the game needs to stop people from accomplishing too much in one day.

[Fiel_Tana]

The WOL is, and forever will remain, a blank slate, because they need us to self-insert into them.

Pardon me while I sidle up to Brinne, grab her stick to proceed beating that horse...

They are portrayed as a blank slate except when they're not and our WoL's reaction to events is forced onto us. For example not being able to even question Hydaelyn's motives or reply with anger or even snark or any opinion other than the approved "loving acceptance" reaction. Then they are not at all a blank slate.

[CrownySuccubus]

Pardon me while I sidle up to Brinne, grab her stick to proceed beating that horse...

They are portrayed as a blank slate except when they're not and our WoL's reaction to events is forced onto us. For example not being able to even question Hydaelyn's motives or reply with anger or even snark or any opinion other than the approved "loving acceptance" reaction. Then they are not at all a blank slate.

That is, in videogame terms, what a "blank slate" is. The player not having any agency to express their personal opinions on the events of the story.

I kept waiting for Thancred to react to Venat writing off Ryne and Gaia as necessary losses or point out just how cruel the deliberate destruction of the Ancients happened to be.

You said this before, and I as I said then, he DID react to Ryne. He specifically asks the Watcher what will happen to the First, and then later specifically tells you to go to Ryne as an equal, not as someone still in need of protection, and tell her what's going on and ask for her insight. Ryne decides to have faith in the Scions to find a way to stop the Final Days outright and not concern themselves with the evacuation plan.

The rest of the Scions simply come across as smug, overeducated university students to me. Given the makeup of this game's community, though, I suppose that explains why they're so popular.

Careful. The real-life politics are seeping in again.

[Fiel_Tana]

That is, in videogame terms, what a "blank slate" is. The player not having any agency to express their personal opinions on the events of the story.

Blank slate is, as you put it:

The WOL is, and forever will remain, a blank slate, because they need us to self-insert into them.

Can't self insert when a forced ideal is opposed to your own morals etc. This game does give some wiggle room in replies fairly often, it doesn't effect the outcome since it's an MMO and we all need to arrive at the same point, but does allow for other responses to allow for that self insertion.

But my point stands that in that situation they do NOT treat the WoL as a blank slate, they force a viewpoint that is extremely problematic for some people.

[CrownySuccubus]

Blank slate is, as you put it:


Can't self insert when a forced ideal is opposed to your own morals etc. This game does give some wiggle room in replies fairly often, it doesn't effect the outcome since it's an MMO and we all need to arrive at the same point, but does allow for other responses to allow for that self insertion.

Yes, that's how blank-slate self-inserts typically work in videogames. What you're thinking of is a "custom avatar", where you are able to build your own character with your own moral choices and preferences.

A blank slate self-insert is a character that is as neutral and milquetoast as possible, on the hopes that this will allow players to headcanon as much as possible. The risk to such a character, as you have just described, is that occasionally, those players will come across something they feel strongly about and will lose the ability to insert themselves into the game character.

But my point stands that in that situation they do NOT treat the WoL as a blank slate, they force a viewpoint that is extremely problematic for some people.

Which is, again, the risk of a blank slate character. They simply do not react in a way the player wants, and typically remain hard-coded into the moral themes of the story.

I didn't make any mention of politics in that particular post...

You did, but I'll assume you just didn't realize it.