story predictions for shadowbringers

[Daralii]

If it turns out that Mini-fillia is the one place where they ditch the "it's been 12k years since the Shards split from the Source so there's no good reason for there to be alternate versions of other characters on other Shards" idea, I will be very disappointed.

Alternate versions of major characters in this setting make no sense. If the writers have to stoop to giving another shard a version of Minfillia to have Source!Minfilia be involved with the plot again, I will think they are very lazy writers indeed. And this is in an expansion that has been dripping with contrivances since it was introduced. The last thing this expansion needs is just another "it just so happens that x happened".

I would much rather have Mini-fillia not be anyone from the 1st Shard. Having her come about due to Source!Minfillia messing around with the 1st Shard and letting her human side be born again or something makes far more sense.

If there was one thing Stormblood taught me about the FFXIV story team, it's that their lore is usually well thought out (so long as Youshida isn't to heavily involved; see Eureka for that). However, their implementation of how the lore is shown to the player through the story has been very lackluster. In particular, Stormblood had a badly paced Expansion MSQ (4.0) and Transition MSQ (4.5). Having to contrive circumstances that Minfillia is involved in the 5.0 MSQ just makes it feel like we are headed into more badly paced MSQ again.

One girl with light hair and blue eyes wouldn't exactly be a counterpart, especially if Ascian rules apply and being a vessel for the Word of the Mother has affected her appearance beyond her pupils.

[Savagelf]

the warrior of light is the warrior of darkness on the first as on are world the warrior of darkness is the warrior light on his own world. the first has been overbalance. the emperor who is a ascian will be killed. this is more a concept of ying and yang. will we on prime world and which may have different rules hyrdian for example may still be good and Zodiark be evil. here I my theory that Minfell brought the Scian to aid her with the first she is avatar of Hydrian so she must use them to balance the world light and dark out. yet she realize they weren't enough so she must bring you there. Hydrian can in fact bring them back they bodies are still on are world.

also It could have been Zodairk and hydrian role have been switch here

[EdwinLi]

If it turns out that Mini-fillia is the one place where they ditch the "it's been 12k years since the Shards split from the Source so there's no good reason for there to be alternate versions of other characters on other Shards" idea, I will be very disappointed.

Alternate versions of major characters in this setting make no sense. If the writers have to stoop to giving another shard a version of Minfillia to have Source!Minfilia be involved with the plot again, I will think they are very lazy writers indeed. And this is in an expansion that has been dripping with contrivances since it was introduced. The last thing this expansion needs is just another "it just so happens that x happened".

I would much rather have Mini-fillia not be anyone from the 1st Shard. Having her come about due to Source!Minfillia messing around with the 1st Shard and letting her human side be born again or something makes far more sense.

If there was one thing Stormblood taught me about the FFXIV story team, it's that their lore is usually well thought out (so long as Youshida isn't to heavily involved; see Eureka for that). However, their implementation of how the lore is shown to the player through the story has been very lackluster. In particular, Stormblood had a badly paced Expansion MSQ (4.0) and Transition MSQ (4.5). Having to contrive circumstances that Minfillia is involved in the 5.0 MSQ just makes it feel like we are headed into more badly paced MSQ again.

As I said before, while there are many reason why a counterpart cannot be born, there are also many possible outcomes for a counterpart to be born BUT they are not going to have the same life experience nor the same personality thus they can be easily considered different people.

A doppleganger has many possibilities to be born and are not bound to "having the same parents" since the different possible outcomes will make certain the people have a difference in their life experience throughout their family tree but at certain points certain combinations of possible outcomes will produce a doppleganger even if there is a slight different in physical appearance such as different hair color or reverse gender. However, the physical appearance and voice will be the only similarity they have since their personality, experiences, and belief will be completely different.

[Sylvain]

If it turns out that Mini-fillia is the one place where they ditch the "it's been 12k years since the Shards split from the Source so there's no good reason for there to be alternate versions of other characters on other Shards" idea, I will be very disappointed.

Minfilia is also a very unique character, not just plot wise but lore wise.
All the scion are still normal humans, she's the voice of Hydaelyn. So, there might be more to it.
What I could see
- Her mind has been sent into someone's body, ether braindead due to illness or fully functionnal killing the target.
It could be interesting to see the internal struggle of Minfillia taking one life to save many mores. Like a necessary evil.
- Hydaelyn created her an entire body and for some reason at a young age. (To give her more time?)
- Hydaelyn made Minfilia born again, as a proper new human being. Except that she kept her memory.

However, their implementation of how the lore is shown to the player through the story has been very lackluster. In particular, Stormblood had a badly paced Expansion MSQ (4.0) and Transition MSQ (4.5). Having to contrive circumstances that Minfillia is involved in the 5.0 MSQ just makes it feel like we are headed into more badly paced MSQ again.

I don't think they will repeat the same mistake twice.
I enjoyed SB story, but it is true that ending it at 4.0 was a mistake, because instead of having continuing the plot, 1 closing, 1 introducing the next xpac and 1 transition we had
3 side stories (tsuku), 1 introducing the next (Crystalbuddy voice) xpac and 1 transition (which wasn't the best)

Had they kept the Shinryu fight for 4.3 (while pacing out tsukuyomi story) the flow would have been better.

Just the fact that the raid will be tied to the MSQ gives me hope that they will not conclude 5.X story by the end of 5.0.
We'll bring back the night/darkness, and throughout 5.1-5.3 we'll work out how to push back the light for good.

[Nalien]

I honestly just expect Mini-filia to be a courtesy reincarnation from Word of the Mother, a "Sorry I hijacked your body, traveled to an alternate reality, and likely burnt up your body casting Freeze on a planet-wide Light Tidalwave" sort of apology.

I very much doubt it's a case of some First born child willingly (or unwillingly) giving up her body for Minfilia, mostly because I don't see a scenario in which Minfilia herself would be remotely OK with that...

[Rocl]

I'm almost expecting that Little Minfilia is just a diret reincarnation of our Minfilia—that ours died/lost her body somehow stopping the Flood, but her aether reformed (?) but she's without the memory of such because she isn't used to being a true aetherial being like a primal or an Ascian. I dunno we'll have answers by the end of the week now and my brain is running on empty lol

I'm hoping against hope that Little and Big Minfilia meeting is some symbolic Echo buffoonery like the Warrior of Light handing Cid back his goggles.

[Jennah]

One prediction I haven't seen is that there was a lot more going on with that 4.55 fight with Elidibenos than we saw; the way everything just abruptly cut off screams that SE was hiding something.
What with us lying defenseless on the battlefield with a bunch of body-snatchers around, I'm going to be surprised if we aren't at the least sharing our body with someone that wants a free trip to the First.
At the most, we might all have outright been Elidibus for the last 3 months.

[QT_Melon]

Wild prediction. We find out we are the literal children of Primal Hydaelyn.

[Jaywalker]

Wild prediction. We find out we are the literal children of Prinal Hydaelyn.

Tbh I don't think it's totally out there. Could happen.

Jumping off your prediction, I just predict we'll have the archbishop's horrified "WHAT ARE YOU????" come back at some point, in some form.

[Seraphor]

Wild theory:

Those with the Echo are said to be ‘immortal’ in a sense right? Their aether doesn’t return to the lifestream like everyone else. That’s what enables the Ascians to come back from the dead, and for people like the WoD to travel from the First to the Source.

The Echo outdates Hydaelyn/Zodiark.
Before they were summoned, there were immortal beings who possessed the Echo. These are the people who summoned Hydaelyn and Zodiark, and there were Twelve notable beings with the Echo… leaders among their people, these are the Twelve.

This means that we are one of those people, reincarnated myriad times, but with no memory of our past lives.
Maybe... we summoned Hydaelyn?
Maybe… we’re one of the Twleve?
What if a later expansion, is us ‘recruiting’ our fellow ‘Twelves’ all of whom have no memories of their past. (and we get to 'determine' which of the Twelve we think we are)

Wilder theory:

What if the Ascians are the Twelve?