long ramble about my + my levelling partner's WoL AU...but She does manipulate them. She picks people with something missing. Usually a mother figure. Minfilia is among them, and obviously, she's been subject with most strength to Hydaelyn's... um, grooming.

So is my Warrior of Light, Aghurlal. His mother was killed when he was a baby, and he believes his life would have been better if she hadn't been. (He's right, but I digress.) But he's also pretty paranoid as a person and, as the fact he did so in Balmung SL attests, relatively willing to tell Hydaelyn to go screw Herself if She asks him to do something he isn't comfortable with.

So: introducing Hydaelyn's ticket to control over Aghurlal's actions, Shirogawa Mitsuhiko. Played by my levelling partner, Shiro is also missing a mother figure; only he remembers his, and misses her. He's earnest and sweet-natured, socially intelligent, diplomatic, and affectionate with his friends... but also gullible. He's a little weaker physically than Aghurlal is. And he follows most of what Hydaelyn asks of him almost completely unconditionally.

You know what else Aghurlal is missing? Well, a fairly major part of his backstory is that he used to have a lover - another man who he was very fond of. Only, this lover was also killed in a very traumatic event for Aghurlal. He used to pine after him every day and view himself as a monster for being unable to save him.

Hydaelyn asked Minfilia to introduce Aghurlal to Shirogawa. Romance blossomed, and Aghurlal worked through his issues RE: losing his old lover by way of "doing better this time" for Shirogawa.

So Hydaelyn now has a situation where She can sweetly ask things of Shirogawa, Shirogawa will do them, and Aghurlal will join in because he loves Shirogawa very much and doesn't want to let him do dangerous things on his own. All without Hydaelyn needing to exert Her will directly over either of them.

Actual spoilers this time, including for 3.3à la Shiva or Thordan, really. The bit that stuck out to me was the DRG 50 quest where Haldrath, the First Dragoon, suddenly appirates around you and literally banishes your powerful enemy from the arena. You know, that thing that it took an entire 8-man party to do, later on.

But the "what are you?" is very telling as well, and something that's been weighing very heavily on WoL!Aghurlal's mind lately. Shirogawa's perspective is "well, no matter what we are, if we stop people are going to die," and Aghurlal agrees with him to a certain extent. But he's also not sure he can ignore the questions in his heart any more. I think it's likely he'll go travelling with Thancred and Alisaie, leaving the diplomatic-minded Shirogawa to play the role of ~The Warrior of Light~ in Ishgard while Aghurlal tries to learn the truth behind matters. Even if he doesn't like what he finds, he'll still feel better for knowing, he thinks. There's a reason I set his title to <Seeker of Truth>.

I'm reminded of Louisoix, who, when all was said and done, planned to summon Primals in order to save Eorzea - no different from any beastman. And then became one. By accident, but nonetheless - the precedent has already been set that even the "good guys" can do this Bad Thing that we spent two expansions dwelling on what a Bad Thing it is. Not only do the Bad Thing, but become the Bad Thing.

It's questions about the end justifying the means and whether it's really that different for us to do it when, whoever it is, it means that Hydaelyn has started eating people as a means to sustain Herself. (An oversimplification, but nonetheless.)

It would surprise me if it turned out that we were, or that it was irreversible, or that it was an unequivocally Always Bad Thing. Because at the end of the day, we're the player-characters, which means we're the protagonists - until SE intends to put down the cash-cow that is our subscriptions, the storyline is unable to end in any sort of definitive way in the forseeable future. And this plot hook has been brought up so consistently and so often that I'm unsure how long they can put off resolving it without irritating people.