[6.0 - 6.4 Spoilers] An interesting video detailing Venat's polarizing reception

[Absimiliard]

You're allowed to not be okay with what Venat did, just as I'm not okay with what Emet did, and we don't have invalid opinions in thinking such. But this doesn't make these characters a failure, and it's wrong to approach them as if they did; it makes them successful. Nor does it make them unpopular; the thing I saw in that Twitter and Reddit dive, far more than actual dislike, were people talking about that part of Venat as a big reason why they like her.

I don't think I can truthfully say my position on the matter has much to do with being "not okay" with Venat's actions or those of Emet-Selch. It is after all just a story, and I do think both characters were written adequately in their respective roles. Both had their perceived justifications, and both found themselves in what most would consider impossible positions. Neither really had a means to bring about an end that would satisfy everyone. Both of them also have an unfathomable amount of blood on their hands. Neither of them were, in my opinion, "good." They were flawed people whose actions lead to flawed outcomes. In other words, they're both guilty as can be of omnicide.

What I'm not overly fond of is the lack of in-game negative response to the truth of what she did. It's the sort of thing the Scions would normally find positively revolting, but they seemed quite willing to just overlook it. The closest thing we really see to it being called out proper is in one of our responses to Omega on the matter. Quite frankly, I don't think I would have even become embroiled in the numerous conversations on the subject were it not for this particular thing. It just didn't jive with me for whatever reason. "What's good for the goose is good for the gander," as they say.

Ultimately, I suppose I can attribute some of it to the impression I was left with by Endwalker; that the writers tried to walk back some of the "morally grey" ShB brought to the table. I like nuance, intrigue, and moral quandaries with no right answer. I've got no particular need to feel like my character is "right" in a given situation, and I definitely don't mind if it sometimes turns out their actions have horrible consequences. Sometimes doing what you think is right turns out be the opposite, and sometimes you find out the person or entity you believed in is just as flawed and broken as you are. Hell, sometimes you wind up just being flat out wrong and get a bunch of people killed -- or, for an example that befits the topic at hand, realize your story about the future was in part the inspiration for what transpired on Venat's end. It's fine for bad things to happen in fiction, but if they do, I'd much prefer to see the resulting social and/or emotional fallout. Consequences and emotional substance are very important parts of a story to me.