About that smirk...(spoilers)

[Amiaze]

I've been curious about Tataru for a while now, specifically given the strange smirk she gives you right before your ill-fated party in Ul Dah. Obvious assumptions aside, she gave that backwards smirk at the same time we were seeing a lot of people's smiles fall away when we left. Also, her dialogue states something along the lines of, "Well, goodbye then! Hmm...goodbye seems kind of final, doesn't it?"

The fact that she is the *only* person aside from Alphinaud to follow is into Ishgard is also disconcerting.

My theory is that Tataru knew that the Scions would be betrayed and was likely working for Teledji or Lolorito (remember when she first became our secretary and complained that we needed funds, and mysteriously got them? I'm sure that she, of all people, would have seen the names of the benefactors), but that she was ignorant as to the outcome. I've also noticed that she, on more than one occasion, was simply not present for events that likely would have killed her (most notably, the banquet).


Could it be possible that she did not want or expect the Scions to die, but wanted something else instead, and Teledji or Lolorito kept her partly in the dark so that they could use her as their mole within the Scions? Her reason for being so adamant in helping us now could be her way to atone for what she did.

Given that a lot of storylines in FFXIV come full-circle, her exclaiming that the Scions "need Gil, and lots of it!" during the second-to-last cutscene for Heavensward brought on a very unexpected case of PTSD for me. I'm wondering if part of the Scion's issues won't be linked to how and where Tataru acquires her funds later on.

Thoughts?

[Sakuraluna]

I've wondered this for a while too. To be fair though, as a secretary there's not a whole lot of reason for her to be in places like that banquet, but that smirk and the fact that in her position, she had to know more about that funding than she's letting on as well as a recent quote- I think it was in that interview linked in the recent interview with yoshi thread that's been floating around here for a little while- that he did mention something about Tataru figuring pretty prominently in the Heavensward storyline when asked about her. So far (as of 3.0 completion) she really hasn't done more than a little research here and some errands there in the background.

There's also the fact that Wedge seems pretty attached to her that I find interesting too.

[Enkidoh]

That's just Tataru though, she's always had rather goofy facial expressions even back in 1.0 - I'd put it down to just the engine not rendering her smile right, creating a slightly 'uncanny valley' effect.

As for your theories about her being a mole, that doesn't hold weight I'm afraid. Tataru wasn't at the banquet for the same reason the other minor Scions weren't present. The banquet was ostensibly for those who directly participated in the defense of Ishgard against Vishap, hence only Minfilia, the Archons and of course the Warrior of Light attended. Tataru is just a receptionist - therefore she didn't warrant a place on the invite list.

Besides, Yugiri confirmed Tataru's whereabouts during the banquet - she was actually in Limsa Lominsa's market with F'lhaminn when the Crystal Braves went rogue and F'lhaminn distracted them so she could escape, and from there Yugiri escorted her to Vesper Bay. There was no ulterior motives in Tataru's behaviour, she was innocently shopping when all hell broke loose.

[Whiteroom]

She did keep the books though right. And it was mentioned that some of the accounts donating money were fairly obvoius frauds. Yet she did not pick up on it. They have made her suspicious seeming, but that may just be a distraction.

[Belhi]

She did keep the books though right. And it was mentioned that some of the accounts donating money were fairly obvoius frauds. Yet she did not pick up on it. They have made her suspicious seeming, but that may just be a distraction.

I don't think the smirk was anything really. She did keep the Scion's books but he Scions and the Crystal Braves were different organisations. We have nothing indicating that she handled the bookkeeping for the Crystal Braves.

[Whiteroom]

I don't think the smirk was anything really. She did keep the Scion's books but he Scions and the Crystal Braves were different organisations. We have nothing indicating that she handled the bookkeeping for the Crystal Braves.

Ah ha. I slipped up there.

[Amiaze]

-sniop-

You're right that her not being present had a good explanation, which I'd forgotten. However, I don't think that her smirk was a slip-up of graphics. I rewatched that cutscene to be sure that I didn't see it incorrectly. Tataru walks away from you and, after you walk away, she stops, turns, seems to frown, and then smirks. And she isn't the only NPC who does this. During this point in the game, stopping and smirking at the Warrior of Light as s/he walks away is the player's indication that said person is about to screw them over. Her wording was also terribly foreboding.

I might also add that the chimerical gear that she gets for Y'shtola is, according to the NPC that gave it to you, "impossible to come buy unless you have big balls or deep pockets, and that friend of yours didn't look like she had either". Were it just to upgrade Y'shtola for aesthetic purposes, I wouldn't really pay attention to it. But having another NPC point out the impossibility of it sends off a red flag for me, especially considering that the area that you would have to farm chimerical hides from, if I'm not mistaken, is Azys Lla, far before you can reach it. How, exactly, did Tataru come by said gear without our help?

I also find it strange that Tataru is the only character that retains the blind optimism and jolly behavior that characters ARR in HW's much darker atmosphere. This would make since if it were someone that had stood out more, such as Yda, but we rarely ever really dealt with Tataru. Yet a good amount of attention is placed on her ARR-style blind optimism, such as her constant singing and dancing (and even changing emotes depending on when you see her) in the Forgotten Knight. The only time FFXIV pushes background characters to the foreground is when their character is about to change or play a major role in the story, similar to how Yda's mask was given focus in a quest shortly before it cracked in half.

Sorry that I'm arguing nuances and semantics here, but her characterization really seems suspicious when held against circumstance and what other NPCs have said about her.

[Lone-wolfe-02]

All lalas have the potential to be evil so naturally don't trust any of them!

[willibra]

All lalas have the potential to be evil so naturally don't trust any of them!

^ This. And I play a Lala, I should know...

[Cilia]

Personally, I think you're making a big fuss over nothing (just like someone who said something was fishy with Tataru because she said she felt a little tingle when attuning to an aetheryte).

Tataru was just smiling, and in hindsight her comment was pretty obvious foreshadowing of what was going to happen. It's just a literary device, nothing sinister or foreboding.

In regards to not catching on to the shell game Teledji was running, she has thus far shown herself to be innocent - and the problem with innocent people is that they tend not to be very suspicious of others and take everything at face value. She is the Scions' secretary, but she's also been working as a miner collecting crystal clusters (etc.) to help with the upkeep of the organization, and also had to spend time learning to sew and work leather at some point during 2.x (since the first real thing she does upon arriving is make Alphinaud new clothes).

How she got the funds for Y'shtola's new outfit? Well, chances are the Scions' back account was private, or as secretary she kept it all on herself (seeing as I'm carrying around ~5m gil right now, don't bring up quantity of currency). With the Scions more or less disbanded during 2.5.5's ending, she alone would have access to all those funds, so...