Ardbert's Party vs the Scions Analysis

[Brinne]

Those are great characters. If the scions were written to be more like them with greater stakes and development then maybe some people wouldn’t want to see them disband.

My friend, if the qualification is "some people think this," then you can find literally any opinion on any story element under the sun. Some people passionately and vocally hate Emet-Selch, who multiple polls put forth as far and away the most popular and breakout character of the game. Surely if he was written better, he would have no haters - except no, that's not how things work.

I'm sorry you hate the Scions so much and want to see them disband. Honestly, I was a little tired of them after EW too, and said outright "I really need a break from them." However, overall, I still like them as characters, as is pretty obvious most people also do, even if there are other characters they're more passionate about.

[CrownySuccubus]

Those are great characters. If the scions were written to be more like them with greater stakes and development then maybe some people wouldn’t want to see them disband.

Sound logic, except that liking Boromir more than Merry and Pipin doesn't mean you want Merry and Pipin to be written like Boromir.

Also, here we go again with the "some people" weasel words.

[Theodric]

However, overall, I still like them as characters, as is pretty obvious most people also do, even if there are other characters they're more passionate about.

I've consistently seen mixed reactions over the years where the Scions are concerned, so I don't think it's as simple as 'most people' wanting them to die or to stick around.

Which, I imagine, is precisely why more variety has been requested as well as the occasional character death and retirement for more than just antagonists or five minute side characters.

[Brinne]

Sound logic, except that liking Boromir more than Merry and Pipin doesn't mean you want Merry and Pipin to be written like Boromir.

Also, here we go again with the "some people" weasel words.

Crowny, I'm going to be Super Creepy at you for a second, so forgive me: I totally get why, but I can't help but wish the forums had some form of DMs. I can only do a player search for your character in-game so many times! (I will immediately delete this if it is Too Creepy.)

[DPZ2]

Those are great characters. If the scions were written to be more like them with greater stakes and development then maybe some people wouldn’t want to see them disband.

That's what fan fiction is for ... a non-commercial way to bend the shape of the world of Eorzea to your own liking.

The end result of literary criticism is a decision to continue reading something by the author, or not.

[Brinne]

I've consistently seen mixed reactions over the years where the Scions are concerned, so I don't think it's as simple as 'most people' wanting them to die or to stick around.

Which, I imagine, is precisely why more variety has been requested as well as the occasional character death and retirement for more than just antagonists or five minute side characters.

You as an individual are absolutely free to express you want more variety or that you dislike the Scions. There are a couple of them I would say I don't like, and I think basically all of them were used badly in EW to the point that, again, I was pretty tired of them by the end and needed a break, and I'm happy to yell that I felt that way and why I felt that way to the moons.

The issue becomes when we start debating how the broader fanbase feels or questions of minority opinion vs majority opinion or one's opinions reflecting a greater and objective truth - taking it upon yourself to speak for others, or using obfuscating language about "some people" or "a lot of people" to try and lend unearned gravity to one's thoughts - which somehow usually turns out to be the case in these threads. I have no illusions that some of my opinions are minority ones, such as my extremely deep dislike for Venat - and therefore I try not to argue from the position that actually, the majority secretly agrees with me that Venat sucks (they do not. Venat is a very popular and well received character) and therefore SE had better listen to me as a representative, which becomes less about the writing and more about my self-assurance, frankly.

I'd been distracted when I voted in that poll and missed that I could vote for multiple characters until a friend asked me how I'd split my vote. To "fix" this, I loaded the poll in my browser's incognito mode and used my two other votes.

I still regret somehow missing the Elidibus option on that poll when I voted! ;_; Please forgive me, Themis! You got my fifth vote in my heart!!!

[aveyond-dreams]

That's what fan fiction is for ... a non-commercial way to bend the shape of the world of Eorzea to your own liking.

The end result of literary criticism is a decision to continue reading something by the author, or not.

Usually it is in fan fiction work where elements such as slice of life scenarios are most prominent, not the main piece of media. So far the end result of this writing is pushing me further and further away from the game I was enjoying. I do not want to see things continue down this road and I would like for the writing style of Heavensward to make a comeback.

[CrownySuccubus]

Crowny, I'm going to be Super Creepy at you for a second, so forgive me: I totally get why, but I can't help but wish the forums had some form of DMs. I can only do a player search for your character in-game so many times! (I will immediately delete this if it is Too Creepy.)

Nah it’s okay. You can always email me. Just add @gmail.com.

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

Usually it is in fan fiction work where elements such as slice of life scenarios are most prominent, not the main piece of media. So far the end result of this writing is pushing me further and further away from the game I was enjoying. I do not want to see things continue down this road and I would like for the writing style of Heavensward to make a comeback.

So... More moogles then?

Oh wait, that wasn't very serious....

[CrownySuccubus]

Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out where this "slice of life" was, when all we saw was a story breakdown in which someone ate a burger for 15 seconds, and a cutscene where the character of our choice tries to psych themselves up to deal with the apocalypse.