Thread: Revelations from Patch 5.3

Originally Posted by KageTokage

There was a civil war going on with people fighting for the throne and we already know there were factions who were opposed to him taking it.

Varis also had to put down his competition before he was able to become the undisputed ruler in the previous succession war.

While it's true that he ultimately only cares about his hunt, he's not above using others as tools to further that purpose. I couldn't see any reason why he'd even bother returning to the palace unless Fandaniel suggested that ascending the throne would offer the means to set the perfect stage for his rematch with us.

Ture on that but not even the Garlear are that dumb to not quesiton such i assume and would split them even more, if they not support they simply abandon all instead i assume, it will still make the round of how the throne room looks right now, spy exists still i guess, Estinien and Gaius als o were able to get in without trouble.

Fandaniel i doubt Zenos even listens to him at all, if any Fandaniel takes control in some way, using another body maybe but Zenos itself, it not seems at all he has any allys at all or ever had, always a lonewolf. Maybe he has siblings we not know of tho that can take the throne aswell, hidden heritage and all.

Originally Posted by WarzonePrez

I honestly believe, in hindsight, Emet-Selch's last words were not to "Remember that we once lived" as meaning for the world to remember that ancients. It was a plea from an Unsundered Ancient to the sundered soul of his dear friend, begging him to remember him, and their lives before the sundering. That was his true test to the WoL.....he recognized his/her soul, and wanted their friend back...wanted them to remember. I think if our revalation came sooner, he would have broken free of Zodiark, and willingly joined us as a wanderer.

"Though the world be sundered and our souls set adrift, where you walk, my dearest friend, fate shall surely follow."

So the "us" and "we" wasn't "Amaurotines/the Ancients" but "you and me" ie "Hades and Azem (and Hythlodeaus, probably)"?

Well... now I'm sad again.

Originally Posted by Cilia

I might be a little slow on the uptake, but...

While it was previously believed Emet-Selch's "Solus" persona was based on Hythlodaeus, with the confirmation of Azem / the PC as his (reincarnated) dear friend it's more likely based on them.

Kind of puts interactions with him in a new light.

Since when was it "believed" (implying broad acceptance of the fact) that the Solus persona was based on anyone? I don't recall it ever being raised and I don't see a need to attribute it to a particular inspiration.

We've seen little to nothing of him in the guise of Solus and the closest would be his early interactions with Varis, which gave me the impression he was a thoroughly unpleasant person. I'm not sure how you could draw a comparison to either of his friends from that.

Originally Posted by Rokke

...

"Purposely playing a part" doesn't mean that part was inspired by anyone specific, and again I don't see how you'd want to compare our short glimpse of Solus to either of his good friends. He's awful to Varis.

He's theatrical but not in the way a real person would be theatrical. He's approaching it like an actor's role on the stage.

Originally Posted by Iscah

"Purposely playing a part" doesn't mean that part was inspired by anyone specific, and again I don't see how you'd want to compare our short glimpse of Solus to either of his good friends. He's awful to Varis.

He's theatrical but not in the way a real person would be theatrical. He's approaching it like an actor's role on the stage.

Actually Emet was inspired by someone specific. That would be Prospero, the wizard that controls a mysterious and unknown world in Shakespeare's The Tempest. This is why the under water area that has the Amarout ruins is called the Tempest. This allusion is pretty heavy handed when you notice that all the locations in The Tempest (the area) also reference The Tempest (the play).

To further drive home the point, the theatrics and the actor's role on stage where a major conceit in Shakespeare's work. Prospero's famous speech from The Tempest is considered Shakespeare's real life retirement speech (because The Tempest was the last play Shakespeare wrote by himself). So in this way, we can see Emet as a person playing their role in events, who really just wants to be remembered for who he was and what he has done.

Moreover, Emet's treatment of Varis and his disdain for current fractured soul life is mirrored in the interaction and interpretation of Caliban and Ariel. The savagery of Caliban has become a horrible metaphor for European enslavement of native peoples; just like Emet uses all the non-ancients like pawns. Ariel, without a life changing event (and in Emet's case it was his defeat by the player character) is unable to be set free (like Emet's attachment to the past).

This is why everyone loves Emet--whether you realize it or not, he is the Shakespearean villain of depth and a masterpiece of character development and plot advancement. His character like all things of Final Fantasy, are a fantastical retelling of real world culture, history, and literature. What you said above is true, but honestly, you didn't do him enough justice.

Originally Posted by Kesey

Actually Emet was inspired by someone specific. That would be Prospero [...]

That's not the type of inspiration being discussed. That's an out-of-story inspiration for the FFXIV writers developing Emet's character.

I (along with the others) was referring to the inspiration - or lack thereof - for Emet's own "performance" as Solus, which I don't think needs to be pointed as mimicking an individual, but certainly will not be coming from a play written in another world.