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

[PawPaw]

Someone fill me in, because I didn't visit these forums during ShB, but did the anti-Emet-Selch/Ascian crowd stop discussing how much they disliked them after a set number of months afterwards?

[Brinne]

Listen I don't know about anyone else but what I'm ultimately getting from this (as my chicken sandwich digests) is that Athena indeed rules and we should all sing her praises. If I (or Venat) was more like Athena and outright and shamelessly countered any ethical objections from my society about my desires with raw LMAO choke on it losers, things would be different around here. It's inspirational!

[Vahlnir]

Someone fill me in, because I didn't visit these forums during ShB, but did the anti-Emet-Selch/Ascian crowd stop discussing how much they disliked them after a set number of months afterwards?

There really wasn't much of an anti Emet-Selch/Ascian crowd. If anything, people felt bad for having to kill the guy and doom an entire race.

[Lauront]

I fail to see where in the context lies that us as the audience were supposed to be see Venat as this "antagonist" when all this time we've been helped by her blessing numerous times in our endeavors. The most we get in terms of questioning were her status as a "primal" and in the context at the time we assumed that all primals were bad news considering their nature of sapping away aether from the land and tempering people into mindless zombies who do nothing but worship them. Yet none of those qualities applied to Hydaelyn herself as:

1. She being the mother crystal, didnt cause any danger to the world by siphoning aether.
2. Tempering? I suppose her giving us the Echo and the Blessing of Light is a boon, but not once did our character nor any other of the WoLs went around worshipping her mindlessly or act out of their own volition; traits that reflect one from being actually tempered.

The setup that was established with Venat/Hyadaelyn during the end of Shb was mostly just "what exactly are you, and what is the grand plan here"

You're conveniently forgetting the part where the entire scene in the Word of the Mother is essentially her lying thanks to what we learnt in SHB (and really, in EW this isn't even disputed), and that she essentially willingly went against her people, the ancients, and sundered (=genocided) them (the question being if it was accidental or not)? The 3.2 art with her wrapping crystalline chains around Minfilia? The suggestion based on Elidibus that becoming the heart can take a toll on that individual, as well as their memories, and thus she may be similarly affected? And how the WoL, as soon as he meets her incarnation as Venat, in EW, is sceptical of her? Or how Y'shtola and Krile began questioning the reasons behind her inaction?

BTW she never granted the Echo. She can awaken it, but it's not hers to give; it is an inherent albeit fragmented trait of the ancients, awakened through the right events.

A character benefiting the protagonists scarcely implies they can't be or become antagonistic. It's not really a good argument.

There really wasn't much of an anti Emet-Selch/Ascian crowd. If anything, people felt bad for having to kill the guy and doom an entire race.

Hmm I remember rather differently.

[Theodric]

People in this very thread like to simp...a LOT, for the Ancients, to the point where Venat is often treated like the anti-christ or Lucifer. It gets rather annoying, to be perfectly honest, especially considering this topic hasn't been dropped in over 8 months (seriously people, WTF is the matter with you!?)...and makes some people in this thread easy to troll, even if it ends up being that accidentally.

I can't say I've seen much in the way of 'simping' for the Ancients. People like them because they're interesting and actually have stakes which can't really be said for the game's major protagonists. Any fondness for their appearance is incidental - personally I find the Ancients too weirdly proportioned. I like big, beefy guys so I certainly don't 'simp' for the Ancients. Even then, a character can look very much to my liking but if their personality or actions are not at least understandable then I lose interest very fast.

Now compare the detailed feedback towards the actual meat of the Ancients and their lore...and compare it with Twitch chat being flooded with 'mOmMy' the moment even a picture of her is shown on screen during a Live Letter.

[Rulakir]

There really wasn't much of an anti Emet-Selch/Ascian crowd.

You don't visit the lore forum much, do you?

[Atelier-Bagur]

I think people just read into things that arent really supposed to be there. Its like when people like to overanalyze a book that "oh this was written because of x, or this totally illustrates y" or search for meaning that wasnt there, when half of the time its ideas or concepts the author genuinely wasnt trying to write about.

Its also why I dislike the general idea that "FFXIV is the best jrpg story ever told" and oversell it when really its just an above average standard story coming from someone who's played numerous jrpgs before. It makes people try to annoyingly validate that claim.

I absolutely love this game's story and I totally enjoy the concept of seeing my created character go into this big long journey but there's lots of other games that Ive played that did some of this game's themes and ideas much better because they were able to solely base around them in a single player experience space. But this being an MMO, there's a lot of cut corners done to make this story work as much as possible. It works for me, but because of it, I cant ever say that FFXIV's story is the greatest thing ever. I still prefer my single-player games to give me better and concise stories and at the very least this game's devs and writing team can finally stretch their legs with the upcoming FFXVI, which Im looking forward to.

[SentioftheHoukai]

ATHENA APPRECIATOR HIGH FIVE. I might be kind of in love with her and it's a little concerning actually

Nah, nothing concerning at all about that.



I love me a woman who will actually just kill me.

Besides, you've seen Athena but have you seen her husband?



I will SIMP for this man 'till the day I die.

Unapologetic, unashamed, unrepentant and unafeared.

[redheadturk]

Nah, nothing concerning at all about that.



I love me a woman who will actually just kill me.

Besides, you've seen Athena but have you seen her husband?



I will SIMP for this man 'till the day I die.

Unapologetic, unashamed, unrepentant and unafeared.

That man makes my lady bits tingle, and I am not ashamed to admit it. I love cool, calm, collected men. I mean, considering Elidibus, Gaius, Lahabrea. . .can you tell I have a type? lmao.

[MikkoAkure]

Hardly anyone here has been asking for Hydaelyn to be a straight up villain.

Where were you when that guy made a whole re-write where she's a crazed murderer? Or just a couple of posts above this one:

An Ancient woman being portrayed as an outright villain and flaunting it like the narc she is? How refreshingly honest! If only all narcissistic Ancient women could be like this.......

I can't say I've seen much in the way of 'simping' for the Ancients.

The posts above mine say otherwise.