What lore do you ignore?

[RavLandslide]

But he was predestined to do it. She set up the First to fall to light so that the WoL would die, so that the alternate timeline would figure out time travel, so that G'raha would come back to save the WoL, so that time travel is now available, so that the WoL can be sent back in time and tell her what she does so that she can do it. Thanking him would be like thanking a domino for falling over when pushed. Plus, I don't think she really cares about individuals. If she did she wouldn't have created seven worlds just to be smashed into the Source, not to mention what she allowed and/or instigated on the First and Thirteen.

So what would she be thanking him for? "Thank you for doing exactly what I set you up to do." If so, should she also thank the Ascians for destroying all the worlds she set them up to destroy right on schedule? Because literally everyone was unknowingly acting on her agenda. The WoL included.

I'm kind of late with my reaction, seeing how much debate this has sparked, but I still felt like I should reply.

I personally think you're giving Venat too much credit. She was a fighter and a friend, not a genius. She was the person who sundered the world on, what the cutscene made out to be, an impulse, with seemingly no further plans besides waiting for us to be born. She of course did know that we were going to be saved, but I don't think we told her every second of what we experienced/read/heard or that she was able to perfectly lay out a plan that would result in the Calamity being stopped. G'raha and his pals made a clever plan which Hydaelyn knew would happen, but did she, herself, personally make that happen? I personally do not think so.

[Lady_Silvermoon]

This is an unfortunate issue with discussion here, as most of the regulars of the lore forums will accept their various headcanons as truth where these truths require the reader/player of the game to make a "correct" interpretation of events to reach. From there, these individuals will attempt to explain why their truth is wholly correct without compromise or without accepting the logical leaps (headcanons) required to make their truth as they see it the absolute truth intended by the writers. It's why I take an approach that is more in-line with what Yoshi-P and the writers of the game intended, which leaves a good chunk of the events of the game open to player interpretation. I find this behavior extremely troubling as it would suggest the narrative of the lore forums agrees with is heavily controlled when, in reality, there is a fair amount of open-endedness due to the writers purposely writing the story in that way.

Yeah, it took me awhile to get there, but I understand that now. If my character's perspective is the only one that matters then yes, Venat is a good, loving mommy. After all, she eradicated her species and several planets worth of her creations just to ensure I'd be born. What's more loving than that?

I personally think you're giving Venat too much credit. She was a fighter and a friend, not a genius. She was the person who sundered the world on, what the cutscene made out to be, an impulse, with seemingly no further plans besides waiting for us to be born. She of course did know that we were going to be saved, but I don't think we told her every second of what we experienced/read/heard or that she was able to perfectly lay out a plan that would result in the Calamity being stopped. G'raha and his pals made a clever plan which Hydaelyn knew would happen, but did she, herself, personally make that happen? I personally do not think so.

Though I've seen multiple instances of her working to maintain the timeline and none of her trying to change it. She handed Ardbert and his friends those crystals knowing what would happen to them, to their world. She left Ardbert roaming the world alone for 100 years because she knew he'd be needed. Imagine how it'd feel to wander a world suffering because of your actions (even though you'd been set up) unable to talk to or interact with anyone for a hundred years. I don't know about you, but I couldn't hand out those crystals knowing what would happen to that world, to those people. But she needed the WoL to die so that G'raha brings the Crystal Tower to the past, so that we can use it to come to her and her reign of terror may continue.

Knowing the full situation, gratitude would have been insulting. "Thank you for providing the tools I need to assure my ascension in this horrific loop I've locked us in."

[Dikatis]

I personally think you're giving Venat too much credit. She was a fighter and a friend, not a genius.

Quick correction. She was Azem and described as a scholar of singular brilliance who uncovered many truths about the star in her travels. So she's very, very smart. But at the same time, it's as you said, there's no way WoL can exposit about everything, much less the the 11970ish years before they were born. We do know that Venat's first measure was to try and mitigate the Final Days' devastation as a whole, but that failed. She only resorted ot Hydaelyn and the Sundering as a last resort.

[Lady_Silvermoon]

We do know that Venat's first measure was to try and mitigate the Final Days' devastation as a whole, but that failed.

What actions did Venat take to mitigate the devastation of the Final Days? Name one.

Her speech about preparation would lead a decent person to assume she means preparation to help and protect the Ancients because that's what they'd do, but reading or listening to it in hindsight, with full knowledge of what happens after, it's clear she's preparing to eradicate her people and replace them. The Sundering wasn't a last option, it was the plan from the moment she heard about the Plenty.