Counterpoint to all the Debbie Downers lately...

[aveyond-dreams]

Why are you derailing the topic? We’re talking about Magnai, not this unrelated dude you’re describing.

But on a serious note, yes, arrogance is indeed, a character flaw which is why I’m saying he’s not perfect, although you overplay it with the “god complex” accusations, it’s nowhere near those levels. And no, him searching for him nhama and asking women out in a confident way is not a flaw. He’s a tribal warlord, for God’s sake, and still acting rather gentlemanly for this status. If he truly believed himself entitled and didn’t care for what others think, he wouldn’t have asked those women at all. As for the “toxic masculinity”…I see this term used far too often to denigrate masculinity and masculine men in general, so I usually see it as a compliment when characters get accused of it. I’d take a man like Magnai over the likes of Alphinaud or post-5.3 G’raha any time of the day.

I feel similarly. FFXIV as of late as had an issue with pushing subversive nonsense forward as opposed to more traditional tastes. We're supposed to pretend like femroes are attractive yet they're the least played race/gender combination. Male character design and mannerisms are another issue entirely. G'raha Tia will forever look like an annoying school girl to me with the way he looks and behaves. Doesn't seem like that will be remedied anytime soon either.

Anyway it's clear that there are people who clearly did not play the same game I did or as I mentioned earlier came up with their own imaginary way that things played out. Mary sue yas queens like Y'shtola are annoying. Seeing characters like that treat other people badly just doesn't make for anything I care to see. It's the same sort of patronizing way that a sector of the playerbase treats men outside the game too so I'm not surprised they don't see an issue with her behavior and instead try to cast the more well-adjusted individual as the bad guy.

But hey, looks like they won FFXIV, and I won FFXVI. I get to experience Jill "I will live to protect you" and her arc going from captured and being forced to fight as a weapon of war, taking revenge against her captors, and playing an active role in FFXVI's main plot + making actual sacrifices over an overhyped librarian whose only notable characteristics are how many time's she's died and come back to life. You know like how actual heroines are supposed to behave, assuming they're written well. We haven't had any of those in FFXIV for a while now.

As for the men I guess the people who for whatever reason like seeing G'raha Tia stuff his face with hamburgers while fawning over their oc can keep him. Now that Varis, Hien, Magnai, Aymeric, Heavensward Estinien, and several other decent male FFXIV characters are no longer in the picture there's not much to look forward on that front either. Zero was apparently designed to resemble a "handsome man" but she's clearly a woman so that's neither here nor there. I think FFXVI has good variety on that front with its male cast with something for everyone, pretty boys like Dion, middle of the road guys like Clive, and older more gruff men like Cid and Barnabas.

Can't wait to see what reactions of some of the posters in this thread will have to Barnabas and Benedikta's relationship in particular, given what's been alluded to in her conversation with Cid prior to their duel. Maybe then their made up headcanons about toxic warlords might actually come true. Magnai however does not fit the description with which they've taken so many creative liberties.