What Zero Could've Been

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

Y'shtola always struck me as a strange choice for the game's mascot in general. Personally I would have preferred the official mascot to be the player character - depicted as he is in the various cinematic trailers.

I mean, it seems like its a back and forth.
The WoL is featured several times in promos, but he looks different each time through the journey. Y'shtola seems more for merch. I see her featured less in comparison to the WoL

[Lunaxia]

Something that makes her feel like she's also going with us into uncharted waters, instead of acting as our all-knowing navigator through them. I don't mind her and Zero having a unique bond in theory--and there's certainly time for the others to get their own with Zero--but I will confess 6.2 MSQ did leave me a little colder overall than I would have liked going into 6.3.

Excellent post, and puts into words why Y'shtola has bothered me for a while, especially the part I quoted.

I remember especially during one of our talks with the Watcher during the EW MSQ getting irritated with the way she was addressing him. Hello, you're talking to someone (well, sort of) thousands of years old from a world beyond ours about a history lost to the ages who has seen and known things far beyond your comprehension while we're stood on a secret base on the moon we never even knew existed, could you possibly not talk to him like you would some petulant schoolboy you're questioning in the street and have some vague semblance of emotion about you?

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

I'm hoping they decide to handle it the FFIV way. By which I mean we fight each fiend one at a time, before finally re-fighting all four of them simultaneously in a single encounter at or near the end of our little foray into the Void.

Hmm...so you wager there might be a way to reverse the Crystalization?
Perhaps Golbez figures out a way, or even somehow rips their essence back out and resummons them to serve him 1 last time as a distraction or as part of his plan to do something big? Perhaps he feeds them the rest of Vtra's sister to give the biggest boost possible and we fight mega forms of them?

IDK just spitballing here.

[Rannie]

Hmm...so you wager there might be a way to reverse the Crystalization?
Perhaps Golbez figures out a way, or even somehow rips their essence back out and resummons them to serve him 1 last time as a distraction or as part of his plan to do something big? Perhaps he feeds them the rest of Vtra's sister to give the biggest boost possible and we fight mega forms of them?

IDK just spitballing here.

Maybe due to them pretty much eating alot Vrtra's sister's aether they will be strong enough to break free.

[Zanarkand-Ronso]

Maybe due to them pretty much eating alot Vrtra's sister's aether they will be strong enough to break free.

Hmm, by that logic I would think they would have been to strong to be contained in teh 1st place.
But it would be interesting to see if/how they get free, we should get 1 more encounter with them before they are gone, I feel like they were over to quickly. At least for the Wind Fiend.

[tokinokanatae]

I remember especially during one of our talks with the Watcher during the EW MSQ getting irritated with the way she was addressing him. Hello, you're talking to someone (well, sort of) thousands of years old from a world beyond ours about a history lost to the ages who has seen and known things far beyond your comprehension while we're stood on a secret base on the moon we never even knew existed, could you possibly not talk to him like you would some petulant schoolboy you're questioning in the street and have some vague semblance of emotion about you?

This speaks to another frustration I have with her: she never seems all that excited to learn new things.

Take G'raha circa Crystal Tower, for example. He was upset at having to allow us to clear out the dangerous sections before the scientists could have their turn to inspect and test parts of the Tower. He was so excited over the idea of seeing new things related to his specialization that it was a part of his characterization.

But Y'shtola never seems to react that way. I'm not saying she has to be sulky over not getting to be among the first to see something in the same way G'raha is, but about the ony thing I can ever remember wow-ing her is maybe Amaurot? For the rest, she seems remarkably detached and unphased by anything new that happens to her or even comes across her path.

[Rannie]

Hmm, by that logic I would think they would have been to strong to be contained in teh 1st place.
But it would be interesting to see if/how they get free, we should get 1 more encounter with them before they are gone, I feel like they were over to quickly. At least for the Wind Fiend.

I mean we did kinda take them by surprise *shrugs* especially with scarmiglione, so I don't see it too far fetched that zero was able to contain them but that's just me. =)

Definitely would like a rematch though four against us like in ffiv also with all four of them on the screen please. Lol

[SannaR]

But Y'shtola wasn't even the one who thought about food. Unless I'm miss remembering. It was Vrtra and Zero was fine with both the "out smart the devil" bit with the name and having to wait longer for some sweet dragon aether.

I think her aether sight could still be a strain on her even if it's just the same aether pool one uses for casting. As I see it more akin to how at least back in ARR casting black magic was highly dangerous to do so without a soul stone due to what aether you tend to use while wielding black magic. Same sort of thing as to why there's a limit to how much a person can heal due to again where that source comes from. And why Sophie's mother died when she tried to actually raise a dead person back to life. We just haven't had something put enough of a strain on her yet to where she'd have to stop or put herself at a high risk. I could see it happening during our next trip into the void though unless they bring some of the new and improved Archon Loaf from the Cul/Alch Studium quest line.

[SannaR]

This speaks to another frustration I have with her: she never seems all that excited to learn new things.

Take G'raha circa Crystal Tower, for example. He was upset at having to allow us to clear out the dangerous sections before the scientists could have their turn to inspect and test parts of the Tower. He was so excited over the idea of seeing new things related to his specialization that it was a part of his characterization.

But Y'shtola never seems to react that way. I'm not saying she has to be sulky over not getting to be among the first to see something in the same way G'raha is, but about the ony thing I can ever remember wow-ing her is maybe Amaurot? For the rest, she seems remarkably detached and unphased by anything new that happens to her or even comes across her path.

To me I think that's partly due to her figuring that's how you should act. Because again look at who raised her. We also don't know the types of stuff she might have read in a certain Library. I mean it had a few books about Garlean naming conventions in it. Along with its own restricted section. I know that is all a weak sauced rebuttal but it does fit her character and background.

[tokinokanatae]

To me I think that's partly due to her figuring that's how you should act. Because again look at who raised her. We also don't know the types of stuff she might have read in a certain Library. I mean it had a few books about Garlean naming conventions in it. Along with its own restricted section. I know that is all a weak sauced rebuttal but it does fit her character and background.

I think you're actually 100% right on why they write Y'shtola this way. It definitely has to do with her upbringing and it's an affect she (probably) deliberately plays into, since she doesn't like being seen as vulnerable. I just think you need a character to be a little bit vulnerable to the player character to really connect to them, but I fully admit that might just be my own issue. Y'shotla's certainly popular enough even without appealing directly to me!