I have frequently voiced my frustrations with Y'shtola which might give off the impression that I don't like her, which isn't true, because it's hard to dislike nothing

Ok, so the problem with Y'shtola isn't so much Y'shtola herself, but the fact that she is very clearly not allowed to do anything

SE is afraid of making Y'shtola stand out because 1. she is the unofficial FFXIV rep, 2. she has a "trophy waifu" status among the fandom and 3. the playerbase hates it when a character, especially a female one, does literally anything significant

like to me it really seems obvious that Y'shtola is held back from doing anything really cool or having a personality because they're afraid of messing up her idol status

So she's limited to doing boring but necessary things offscreen, saying flirty dommy mommy voice lines, and being mean to everyone (but not too mean to the WoL because we can't hurt the players' delicate feelings)

And also she serves as a handy exposition dispenser (because players are more likely to listen if it's a sexy catgirl saying it) and as a plot fixer who disappears for a while then comes back with a plot saving spell

Every time Y'shtola has something that comes dangerously close to the concepts of "interesting" or "character development" it gets immediately halted and pushed as far out of sight and mind as possible

Take her relationship with Matoya, for example. They have a very clear mother-daughter relationship going on and it's clear that Matoya is such a strong influence on who Y'shtola is but we never get to really explore that relationship other than to know it's there

Like none of the Scions have super detailed backstories or anything, but Y'shtola's is one of the shallowest despite how much screentime she gets

like ok we don't get much on Papalymo but Papalymo might as well not exist as a character for how little he shows up or affects anything that isn't his Shinryu sacrifice

Y'shtola has all of the foundations of an interesting character that grows with the story, the seeds are literally planted, but they aren't being watered and allowed to grow, in fear of upsetting the playerbase

The most significant one, to me, is her Shadowbringers incarnation with the Night's Blessed

before that, Y'shtola was a character who put the pursuit of knowledge as her highest priority

She did value putting her knowledge to practical use in bettering the world (else she wouldn't be a Scion) but it was purely on a macro, impersonal level

and her 3 years in the First prior to the WoL's arrival was the first time she really connected with a community on a personal level

She didn't need to become the leader of the Night's Blessed but she did

She didn't need to treat their rituals and customs with general respect on the cultural level (outside of their practical uses) but she did

She didn't need to become personally attached to them but she did

But once the WoL arrives and she has to leave Slitherbough they've been quietly downplaying how much the Night's Blessed means to her

They keep have her searching for intershard travel but not mentioning the reason why she wants free travel between shards: she wants to see the Night's Blessed again

Like this is a very weird case where Y'shtola has everything she needs to be a strong, dynamic character and it's all there but they won't use it

There's very little I'd actually change about Y'shtola outside of. LET. HER. BE. A. CHARACTER.

instead of a sexy exposition dispenser and plot fixer

If there was anything major about Y'shtola and what she does/happens to her it's her Ultima Thule scene with the Ea

like her big character defining proclamation is "I like knowledge and will keep pursing it without fear" girl that's been your defining character trait since ARR

Estinien gets "I went from killing dragons to understanding them and their pain on a level no other mortal has achieved and want them to choose life" and Y'shtola gets "I like learning C:"

It would be easy to tie in Y'shtola with the Ea's plight. That learning just for the sake of learning isn't enough. It's how you use what you know and how you use it to connect with people even if you're not a particularly social person and the value that brings

That learning something terrible sucks, but the solution isn't to just give up. You use what you learned and the connections you formed from putting your knowledge to use to find solutions

Like there's a reason why at the Endwalker MSQ dialogue, what Y'shtola asks the WoL is whether or not she should write a book

It's because she understands that knowledge is not something to hoard, it's something you share

A book would allow her to connect with others, especially those she will never meet

It will let her bond and communicate with others long after she's gone

Y'shtola has an arc about how you can be not particularly social but still form strong and meaningful relationships with others, and how letting others in won't change you for the worse

but she's not allowed to really express it. It's always in the background and covered up

Also uhhh I'd let Y'shtola be meaner to the WoL, like actually mean and not playful flirty mean

The closest she gets is scolding the WoL for facing Endsinger alone which is like, yes more of that

Let her get angry with us!

The WoL does stupid shit daily!

Just because it works out most of the time doesn't mean it isn't scold worthy!

people got so mad that runar is like in the ballpark of a romantic interest for Y’shtola that I feel like the devs hit the breaks

Like she gets really upset with Urianger for keeping secrets and the Exarch's stupid plan under wraps and deservedly so!

Y'shtola gets mad because not only is it stupid, it's because people she loves and cares about are put in danger

I wish she was more adamant about her opposition to the WoL binge eating light during Shadowbringers instead of being more "idk if this is a good idea" then dropping it

because if there is one thing about Y'shtola it's that she doesn't back down when she has a strongly held opinion

Runar is a very weird case because it's super easy to just make their relationship Not Romantic if you don't want to go there and just make him her close friend

but the mere idea of a male character (a stinky Hrothgar at that!) having a positive relationship with Y'shtola was enough to send people into a meltdown

I feel like that's why they also nixed the adversarial flirty relationship she had with Thancred in ARR too (aside from Thancred growing up past that behavior, I mean)

Also another Y'shtola dread that got hot dropped is Y'mhitra

Y'mhitra is close enough to Y'shtola that Y'shtola gives her an apology right before casting Flow for the first time

Y'mhitra is the one we need to pull Y'shtola out of the lifestream

And we don't even get an indication of what their relationship is like

Y'mhitra is such a fun character too, being basically a more carefree and social version of Y'shtola

If Estnien can get promoted from Job Quest NPC to more important major character so can Y'mhitra

She wouldn't even have to show up much just be there for some wacky troublemaking sisters hijinx when appropriate

Anyway for the future I would really like for Y'shtola to form another personal relationship, preferably with someone outside the Scions (at least initially, maybe this hypothetical person can join later)

It's been mentioned before, but taking on an apprentice would be the perfect route for her character to go

I really wanted her to mentor Sphene but that kind of just isn't possible with how little time there is left before the next expansion (in universe wise)

Maybe the setup patch or next expansion she can find her pupil

Also I do want her to achieve her Intershard travel goal so she can reunite with the Night's Blessed

But again above all just...let Y'shtola be

she has everything she needs to be an amazing character

she just needs to be allowed to use it

she won't lose her waifu status I promise

if people drop her as a waifu because she spoke to a male character positively they didn't deserve to have her as their waifu anyway

a real waifu appreciator isn't threatened and allows their waifu to flourish in all aspects

We are getting something to do with her family in chronicles of light ii at least? I don’t know I didn’t check beyond the exarch being shadow in time prison from tails gets trolled

I always wondered how ppl reacted to Runar.....I loved that Yshtola got to be close with someone onscreen after she was barely there in Stormblood, what do u mean ppl hated that

It's because Y'shtola "fans" don't like her as a character

They like her as a fuckable object

I don't mean all Y'shtola fans, but it's like...most Y'shtola fans...

like you don't see fans of any other character act like this

someone draws their WoL pegging G'raha and other G'raha fans are like YEAH YOU FUCK THAT CATBOY

but if you dare suggest to someone that Y'shtola talked to another character people go "NO, SHE BELONGS TO ME"

If you ask people why they like Y'shtola literally the only answer is "she's hot"

You'll never see someone say "I like her personality" outside of the Little Sun line

Maybe you'll get something about dommy mommy jokes

but that again just goes back to her physical sex appeal

and like the sad truth is if Y'shtola wasn't a Miqo'te, or if there was another main Miqo'te female NPC character nobody would care about her

This isn't a problem unique to Y'shtola though, this entire fandom judges a character based on how hot they are and it's painfully obvious

if you made Wuk Lamat a Miqo'te she would be a wildly popular character that people would be begging to join the Scions

My hot take is people don't actually hate Wuk Lamat as a character, they hate the fact that she's a Hrothgar

And also that she's a central focus character (which is also Lyse's "sin")

Which brings us back to SE's Y'shtola dilemma

like I'm afraid the "lesson" that they're going to learn from Stormblood and Dawntrail is people don't like female main characters

or female characters that stand out

so Y'shtola will be stuck in No Personality Player Fuck Fantasy zone forever

like part of me does side eye that people called Sphene a bad character who should've never existed until another Sphene who fits all of the demure waifu traits existed

and suddenly everyone loves Sphene

anyway oops I didn't mean for this to be my gripes about FFXIV fandom, even though FFXIV fandom is kind of an integral part of this

(but listen I don't think it's a coincidence that the "bad" expansion are the ones with "ugly" characters like those icky Highlanders and Furries and Scalies)

oh I totally forgot this but: make Y'shtola being blind actually mean something please

like yeah we got that nice scene where she asks Urianger to describe the night sky to her and she struggles for all of one (1) dungeon in Endwalker but that's it

I'm not even talking about the "is she or is she killing herself with Aethersight" thing because that was kind of a bad idea to begin with also I don't like the implication that being blind is an indirect death sentence

like maybe she just needs things described to her more on occasion

maybe being blind helps her in some way

Maybe she needs to make herself a sick nasty seeing eye familiar she needs to use on occasion (or a Nixie, a Nixie works too)

Just blind, but actually isn't is lame

A SEEING EYE FAMILIAR WOULD BE SO SICK

Thancred somehow struggles more than she does and he comparatively had a much lighter consequence of losing access to magic, which isn't the worst thing in the world considering Garleans exist

And that we see him (story wise anyway) have some minor inconveniences with his lack of magic like being unable to make his GNB cartridges and needing someone else to do it

And not being able to use teleport

but yeah just like, make Aethersight not perfect and not the "I can't see the night sky" not perfect

like maybe it's harder for her to find the books she needs because trying to use aethersight to read so many titles is overwhelming in terms of energy cost (therefore she needs your help to find it, boom easy quest objective)

that said, Aethersight is a very funny reason as to why Y'shtola does mechanics on every fight (not in Vanaspathi) perfectly

do you think that in story certain things stretch out for days because we have to wait for Thancred to get there-

but yeah Y'shtola can be a badass and blind, but like it's kind of hollow if she is just blind in name only

the blind badass is a common character trope you can make it work SE I believe in you

you kinda did it with Ignis!!!

only kinda but it was a better effort than Y'shtola

but yes I am very attached to the Y'shtola should make herself a cool seeing eye familiar, like she doesn't have to use it all the time, like how Alisae can call Angelo when needed

And she can use it to put bozos in their place

Seeing Eye Drippy would be so good

like I realize that they probably regret making Y'shtola blind and that it was kind of a spur of the moment decision they didn't realize the ramifications of but you're stuck with it now work with it

But pretending she isn't blind isn't it chief

like I'd rather have them officially cure her blindness rather than just keep pretending it doesn't exist

like going back to Ignis his blindness depiction isn't that great either (mostly due to FFXV's writing structure more than anything else) but it at least had a symbolic meaning of what he would sacrifice for Noctis

anyway I'm surprised I managed to go on about a character who my main issue is "there actually isn't much wrong with her it's just upper management won't let her do her job" but I guess that speaks as to how much I want Y'shtola to be the character she's meant to be

Ysayle is missed opportunities the character, but Y'shtola is "repeatedly saying no to buy a star in Mario Party" the character

I WANT TO LOVE Y'SHTOLA I WANT PEOPLE TO LOVE HER FOR REASONS OTHER THAN "CATGIRL"

SHE HAS SO MUCH GOING FOR HER

SHE JUST NEEDS THE OK TO GO

I stand by "I only started liking Yshtola in Shadowbringers bc they let her have clear relationships she puts priority on outside the WoL"

I loved Runar and its wild to me that people are like NO YSHTOLA IS FOR THE GAYS

y'shtola slaps urianger's ass i feel like she's gotta be at least kinda bi

You have such good character thoughts and I appreciate that you share them

I'd probably lean towards bi Y'shtola too like I said earlier she had that weird adversarial flirting thing going on with Thancred in ARR

also the person I saw most upset about Runar were straight men lmao

*people

people be thinking they're real men when they're more like Magnai (I respect Magnai more tbh)

at least Magnai understands when he's not wanted