Rewritten MSQ - Garlemald and EW

[whitemoonflower]

After rereading the ending that I gave to the Loporrits...I will agree with you in that I do hope that some chose to stay awake and not rejoin their new adopted mother, Meteion, so soon. When I was thinking of what to do with them, as obscure a reference as this might be, I was looking back to Buju from Dawn of Mana. In the ending of that game, Buju longingly looks at his owner, Ritzia, as she sinks into the depths of the Mana Tree before transforming into the Goddess of Mana. I think to myself, given the choice, wouldn’t a creature like this want to be reunited with his owner? Wouldn’t therefore the Loporrits, essentially children, want to be reunited with the figure that they have accepted as their mother?

Other inspiration for the way in which I wrote them includes the story of Hachiko – though the Loporrits in my rewrite were subjected to a far crueller fate. Hachiko’s owner did not abandon him deliberately, but the Hydaelyn of my rewrite did despite these creatures perpetually longing for her return. They would immediately believe Meteion to be the goddess having finally come back for them, and Meteion would be both enamoured by such cute creatures yet internally torn at the thought of deceiving them. Eventually, they would come to realize that Meteion had lied to them but because of how much love she showed them, they come to look at her as everything they wished Hydaelyn was.

Perhaps they'd come to wonder more about the world she loved the same way she loved them: dearly, selflessly, and with a warmth that strikingly contrasted if not entirely dissipated the cold rejection that once followed them like a shadow across the face of the moon. Either way, I much prefer the purpose you gave them. Being abandoned in their creator's vain insanity, mistaking another for her, and then being unconditionally accepted by that same one who later comes to bear the rightful, intended form would grant them much more depth than being mere "moonship-piloting fail-safe bunnies".

I also appreciate how you changed the WoL's battle with Zodiark into something more than what felt like a minor detour. The journey to face him contrasted with the journey to face Hydaelyn would've been something to remember. The souls within him refusing to aid Zenos and even encouraging/helping the WoL would've been a thoughtful touch as well—something to mark their realization, coming to terms, acceptance, and passing on peacefully. They'd all been through so much, yet only a few received a proper send-off.