Originally Posted by
Gemina
It's fine to disagree. The subject is, "Would you enjoy it?" so 'no' answers are perfectly valid as well. However, you're simply objecting to any sort of possibility that would realistically exist as extremely problematic for both the WoL and the Scions. You can pass off such disturbances as "cheap and lazy" ploys to subvert our attention, but all you're doing is passing judgment before witnessing its execution. The fact that this entire faction is never at odds with each other, and the WoL's passiveness is extremely unrealistic.
While the blessing of light is strictly defined, the Echo is not. We don't know, nor understand everything about the Echo, and it wasn't until recently that we learned it can foretell future events. They opened the door to the 'chicken or the egg' analogy, and a vision or intervention can come from our future selves if we want to object that the WoLs echo cannot evolve past what we know it to be. Zenos already pointed out to us that we basically use it instinctively, implying that harnessing and controlling the power is possible. Because the full and true power of the Echo is left ambiguous, it's the card that lets the writers pull just about anything out of their butts.
Honestly just sounds like you're pretty bitter about not only the story as is, but also the direction it's headed. If that's the case, then I really don't know what to tell you. These are just ideas being tossed around, and not even headcanon. Since you're so objectionable and apparently know what makes good story telling, why don't you enlighten us to how you would make this group of characters who become continuously more uninteresting, interesting. We know that the current conflict is coming to a conclusion, so how do we keep this story going while keeping it interesting, and avoiding another 'OMG prevent the calamity' premise we've been doing this whole time?
All of this is pretty funny to me. You're saying it's okay for me to not enjoy the idea, but in the same post complaining that I criticized it. You accuse me of being bitter about the story, but in the same post complain that the story is "unrealistic" because we haven't "been at odds" with the Scions—which apparently means trying to kill them if your opening post is anything to go by. You also complain that the characters have become "uninteresting", but again, apparently I'm the one bitter about the story.
Here's the thing: Good stories come to an end, and right now FF14's current story is doing just that. We've got 1-2 expansions left in it, depending on whether or not they make dealing with Garlemald and Zodiark a 2-for-1 deal. And after that, it's done. Wherever the next expansion after that goes, it will surely be a new start rather than another continuation of the plot started in A Realm Reborn. And if that means the Scions' stories also come to an end, that's fine. We don't need to drag them along wherever we go next.
But to entertain the idea that it would somehow be "interesting" for the Warrior of Light to suddenly go rogue, here's a thought:
Perhaps Zodiark's seal has weakened enough that he can influence the world outside of it, allowing him to raise up new Ascians from time to time. They won't be as strong as Emet-Selch or Elidibus, but they don't need to be. The only way to stop this is to kill Zodiark, and the only way to get to him is to release him from his seal. Hydaelyn refuses to do this, as she is content with the current status quo and will just raise up new champions as the need arises. To wit: Hydaelyn no longer needs us and rescinds our Blessing of Light.
To make things even more complicated, even if we were to break through Zodiark's seal on our own, killing him while leaving Hydaelyn alive would dangerously upset the balance of Light and Dark on the Source, resulting in a Flood of Light. So in order to deal with Zodiark permanently, we would also have to kill Hydaelyn. This would also be permanent—there isn't a single soul in existence that could summon a primal on the scale of Zodiark or Hydaelyn any longer.
Finally, there's the matter of "What will happen when Zodiark and Hydaelyn are gone?". Nobody knows. Not even Hydaelyn, with all her foresight, can tell. The prospect is rightfully terrifying to all present.
To incentivize us, and the Scions, to walk away, Hydaelyn offers to bring back the Scions (and our friends) we have lost along our journey. Even though this goes against her own beliefs, she is willing to compromise to ensure her own survival. And to demonstrate that this is no idle promise, she recreates Minfilia's soul from scratch. This should be impossible, as Minfilia's soul was merged with Ryne's, but let's say Hydaelyn can recreate her soul specifically because of some connection the two have.
Despite all this, the Warrior of Light is willing to risk an unknown, unsafe future for the sake of ending Zodiark's influence on the world. Naturally, there are those among the Scions who are opposed to this. Their reasons are numerous: We might actually fail at this task without the Blessing of Light. We can't guarantee that there will be any benefit to doing so. This is the only chance they'll ever get to bring back those they have lost, and that fact has given them reason to rethink their decision to accept those deaths and move on.
And for the final bit of salt in the wound: Minfilia, much like the Ascians, is tempered. How badly off the tempered are varies considerably, and Minfilia is roughly in the same state as the likes of Emet-Selch: Admittedly under the thrall of a primal, but otherwise unchanged. And so Minfilia approaches the conflict from a neutral perspective, arguing the merits of both paths, and is willing to leave the choice up to us... but will have to come to Hydaelyn's defense if we choose to kill her.
Naturally, we come out ahead in this conflict. Let's say it's the final battle of 7.0, that Zodiark is dealt with in 7.3, and the ensuing patches ramp up to the next conflict: Whatever the two eldest primals were holding back is returning, and it's our own fault that this is happening. There is too much bad blood between us and the Scions at the moment, and most of them are unwilling to cooperate with us any longer. They're still working to combat this latest threat, but for the most part separately from us. And by the end of 8.0, we have to accept that we need to work together to stop this threat, and so we do. Everything isn't water under the bridge and we might end up parting ways again, but on better terms than we did the first time.
Now here's the thing: I don't necessarily believe any of the above is a good idea. In fact, I think it's full of some pretty bad ideas—having Minfilia come back after they finally got "Minfilia dies" right just to kill her off a fourth time being one of them. Likewise, I've never been sold on the idea that there was a secret Lavos/Jenova-esque villain behind the End of Days, so that would have to be executed exceptionally well for me to enjoy it. The scenario is also very contrived, and trying to establish all of that in the space of a few quests or 1-2 cutscenes would give precious little space for the actual characters involved to make their decisions.
And finally, you'll have to note that I didn't go full "WoL goes rogue" with the idea. We would still be working with the Scions out of necessity when the time comes, and they wouldn't be out for our blood or anything of the sort. In order to actually have a break from the Scions in any permanent sense, either they would all need to die (which is wasteful) or the story would have to move somewhere out of their interests (in which case, there is no need to forcefully sever their bonds with the Warrior of Light). Anything else is strictly temporary, and I would much rather have the Warrior of Light and the Scions eat crow than have the Warrior of Light's ego sucked until they stopped throwing a tantrum and listened to reason.
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