*Spoilers* Anyone feel joining Emet would have been better

[sidurgu-12]

I mean, I know the answers you're going to give and want in return, because you jumped right out calling them a villain thereby immediately poisoning the well by declaring them wrong. But remember: The Sundering was not inherently good. The Sundering was inherently pretty awful, actually, it was just what Venat saw as the least awful option.

i hate this phrase but it really is a lesser of two evils. and even if shes portrayed as the big good the choice itself was portrayed as very gray.

[KizuyaKatogami]

i hate this phrase but it really is a lesser of two evils. and even if shes portrayed as the big good the choice itself was portrayed as very gray.

Except it isn’t and i don’t understand why people are portraying this as it is. The lesser of two evils would’ve been informing her people and working with them. She gave up on them and placed all her hope and faith in a person she had only just met, of whom she seemed to not even trust entirely as she had an entire backup plan made which, btw, wouldn’t resulted in her forsaking a majority of her “children.” At that point, she’d be losing and killing far more people than if she had just worked with her people and tried to stop it, whether they failed or not lmao.

[sidurgu-12]

Except it isn’t and i don’t understand why people are portraying this as it is. The lesser of two evils would’ve been informing her people and working with them. She gave up on them and placed all her hope and faith in a person she had only just met, of whom she seemed to not even trust entirely as she had an entire backup plan made which, btw, wouldn’t resulted in her forsaking a majority of her “children.” At that point, she’d be losing and killing far more people than if she had just worked with her people and tried to stop it, whether they failed or not lmao.

she did try. the ew scene may have been quick but the andyrs scene makes it clear she tried for quite a while before resorting to sundering. plus its a backup plan for a reason- if all else fails save who you can.

[tokinokanatae]

she did try. the ew scene may have been quick but the andyrs scene makes it clear she tried for quite a while before resorting to sundering. plus its a backup plan for a reason- if all else fails save who you can.

What do you think Venat said to the Covocation to try to sway them to her perspective?

We already know it couldn’t have been the facts behind the Final Days.

[sidurgu-12]

What do you think Venat said to the Covocation to try to sway them to her perspective?

We already know it couldn’t have been the facts behind the Final Days.

no idea. maybe she said zodiarks only a stopgap and sacrificing more will only add to that or the first sacrifice only applied a band aid and now they need to find the real cause. but until se possibly releases a short story thats just headcanon.

[tokinokanatae]

no idea. maybe she said zodiarks only a stopgap and sacrificing more will only add to that or the first sacrifice only applied a band aid and now they need to find the real cause. but until se possibly releases a short story thats just headcanon.

The question then becomes, “what real cause are you referring to and how do you know about it?”

[KizuyaKatogami]

no idea. maybe she said zodiarks only a stopgap and sacrificing more will only add to that or the first sacrifice only applied a band aid and now they need to find the real cause. but until se possibly releases a short story thats just headcanon.

From the anamnesis dialogue, if thats truly the last time she spoke with her people, we know she didnt even tell her most trusted disciples her plan about the sundering or about the final days. Only that Zodiark was a temporary solution. My point is, instead of waiting until after the final days had occurred, she could have told them before, and they all couldve worked together as one to prevent the final days altogether. Instead she kept it all a secret. Its the same as if like, someone went up to cid in the AU timeline after they had all agreed to effectively sacrifice their timeline to bring the WoL back and said omg no, dont do this etc etc.

[Jandor]

As everyone keeps referencing it.

Diplomatic Ancient One:
'Thank you all for joining us at the Anyder in these most perilious of times.'
'By the summoning of Zodiark have we been granted a reprieve. Yet immutable as the laws He has woven may seem, they will not serve to forestall our doom.'

Distressed Ancient One:
'Nay. Should we continue down this path, our fate will be the same.'
'I said as much to the Convocation of course, but the stubborn fools turned a deaf ear to my warnings.'
'I had hoped that the defector, at least, would side with us, but I regret our overtures have gone unanswered.'
'Whither tend your thoughts, Venat? Where you lead, we will follow.'

Venat:
'I shall not speak ill of the Convocation, they too seek only to secure the future of our star.'
'Yet it is plain they will not countenance a permanent solution. That being the case, we must ask ourselves a simple question, are we prepared to pursue our chosen course, even should it mean suffering the eternal condemnation of our brethren?'
'If so, I see no further reasion to demur.'
'Let us bring forth the Light that shall ever after keep the Darkness in check.'

-----

Diplomatic Ancient One:
'Venat, please. Why must it be you?'
'If I may speak plainly, I would sooner it were another, any other. You are our leader. None can take your place.'

Venat:
'You know as well as I that but few support our cause. Far fewer than they who place their faith in Zodiark.'
'If Hydaelyn is to stand a chance of opposing Him, I am the only one who might suffice as Her heart.'
'Rest assured, however, I shall not vanish from this world. The form I take shall ever remain my choice.'

Diplomatic Ancient One:
'Then I will press you no more. Only know this, you will be sorely missed.'
'I wonder... is this how the Convocation felt about Elidibus?'

[Rulakir]

It's the part that occurs after that:

Diplomatic Ancient One: Venat, please... Why must it be you? If I may speak plainly, I would sooner it were another... any other. You are our leader. None can take your place.
Venat: You know as well as I that but few support our cause. Far fewer than they who place their faith in Zodiark. If Hydaelyn is to stand a chance of opposing Him, I am the only one who might suffice as Her heart. Rest assured, however, I shall not vanish from this world. The form I take shall ever remain my choice.
Diplomatic Ancient One: Then I will press you no more. Only know this... you will be sorely missed. I wonder... is this how the Convocation felt about Elidibus?

[RyuDragnier]

If we were ever to get an unbiased source, it would probably Azem (ie our original self) who would likely be taking mixed ground. Feeling that the Convocation is right that the star and its people needed to be saved, but feeling that they shouldn't have to sacrifice people to be able to do it. They would also be feeling that Venat is right in that the sacrifices have gone too far and that they don't have the right to determine who lives and who dies, but they also shouldn't have to sacrifice their entire civilization to save everyone. Basically, Azem would likely be tormented because they want to save everybody but know they can't, and that's why they didn't pick a side. For somebody like them who had traveled the world, met all sorts of people, became friends with many and possibly fell in love with a few, that sort of decision would be too much for them to bear.

Hell, imagine if our character had to make that decision to whether Sunder everybody they knew and loved, forgetting about them and yourself, or sacrificing a lot of them to save all current life. The decision wouldn't be able to be made, the WoL would be deadlocked, completely unable to make one.