I am a big Dawntrail defender and I will defend Wuk Lamat even though I'm not even that gung ho on her, because honestly the absolute bullshit this character has suffered is ridiculous

It wasn't really their intention, but SE managed to create a character that would draw the attention of every misogynist, racist, and transphobe on the planet and I've seen a lot of people trying to mask their various -isms under the guise of "criticism"

But that's not what we're here to talk about because there are problems with Wuk Lamat's character, but none of them have to do with "stealing the spotlight" or "being annoying" or "kicking my dog"

Ok so the first real issue with Wuk Lamat I feel like is the extremely weird disconnect between her near laser focus on culture and her inexplicably shallow understanding of it

They try to explain it away as she lived a sheltered life in Tuliyollal, but it's super jarring that she's that ignorant of everything

She's been to Ihihana yet literally can't even remember the name? She "never bothered" to go back to Yak Tel?

LIke it would make sense if she didn't have a deeper understanding of Tural's cultures but she should surely know more than she starts out with.

She should probably know a little more than just "the Pelupelu are the merchant clan"

We already have the WoL, the twins, and Krile to be the audience stand ins to teach these things to

Like this isn't a major problem or anything but it is a noticeable one and it just makes her look kind of ignorant instead of sheltered

Having her be a little more knowledgeable from the getgo will make it easier to write her connecting with her people

And less like she's a tourist in her own country

It wouldn't hurt for her to know more of the basics about the Hanu and not just "they hold a festival each year" but more about the importance of reeds in their lives instead of her learning it when she gets to Ok'hanu

and by participating in reviving Ihihana brings her the deeper knowledge of the festival's true purpose

Also as an aside despite what people claim, I don't think "the Hanu don't know the purpose of their own festival" is not that big of a plothole, these seemingly important details DO get lost over time

Most people don't know why we decorate trees for Christmas, it's just the thing we do

If you grew up not knowing that Ihihana is a ritual spell for good crops wouldn't make that connection year-to-year until your crops actually start failing

It was something the Hanu took for granted for years

It is more fantastical but it's a similar principle

Anyway enough about that, the basic idea here was that I think Wuk Lamat should have had a little more understanding of her people than what was shown

Anyway I have been doing a real proper replay of Dawntrail and I think I identified what is probably a very big major problem for Wuk Lamat

Which is holy shit the writers went in super hard to make her look as bad as possible for the start of the story

Her flaws are showcased extremely aggressively without also showing her strengths to balance it out

Take the seasickness thing, like man they drag this one facet of her out for far too long

The first proper cutscene we've got Erenville saying that her efforts to help during the storm at sea were useless and possibly even detrimental to the rescue efforts because her seasickness was so bad

That's like...not really how you want to introduce a character we're supposed to be rooting for

(yes I know this technically isn't our introduction to her because we really first met her during the EW patches, but this is still the getting to know her phase)

And then the seasickness just keeps being a thing to the point that it's treated as a running gag

But not like a "this is a reason to find the character endearing" type of running gag, such as Estinien being a weird cryptid

It really comes off as a "look how absolutely useless this character is" running gag

And then we get to Tuliyollal and some of the Tuliyollans come up to talk to her and they're like "Your brothers are so regal and intimidating, but you're just so approachable!" and it's portrayed as a backhanded compliment

and to a viewer, it can read as the people don't respect Wuk Lamat

Like it's supposed to be an indication of her hidden strength, but it's just not well portrayed here

And it only gets reinforced during the start of the Rite of Succession when people are just talking shit almost nonstop about her

I think a better way to do this would be to have the citizens first greet her a little more warmly without the comparison to her brothers, to show that there are people who actually do just like coming up to talk to her, or feel like they can come to her with their concerns

Instead of "you're just so easy to talk to!" maybe a better line would be "we know you always make time for us and listen to us"

And when people are expressing doubts about her fitness to rule, it should be more about how she'll have a hard time keeping up with her more accomplished brothers and not "she hasn't done shit"

I get the idea that the purpose was the portray her as an underdog in the competition but they went a little too hard and what this kind of does is prime the player to dislike her

Anyway on account of "lacking any accomplishments to her name" instead of literally nothing, it would've been better to give her like. Something. Something that might not seem impressive compared to Zoraal Ja or Koana's accomplishments.

Like maybe she's one of Tuliyollal's best hunters, maybe she once drove off a beast that had broken into the city. Maybe she helped some community initiatives happen.

Something that really drives the idea that she has the potential to make things happen.

That if given the chance, she can go on to do something bigger and better.

Anyway another thing I would do is just kind of cut the mini arc about her pretending to be tough and untouchable.

It doesn't really do anything for her character aside from kind of just make her look bad.

I know there's the whole "she has to learn to ask for help" thing but that was so minor and got resolved super quickly also she's ALREADY asking for help by enlisting such a big entourage for the rite in the first place

Maybe she can feel self conscious about having such a big group of helpers instead

Maybe instead of acting tough, she tries to do too much by herself to solve the peoples' problems

Something like that would better hammer home how much she prioritizes the happiness and well being of her people

In ways that Zoraal Ja and Koana just aren't naturally attuned to

Another thing I kind of take issue with is when Wuk Lamat is asking what her special trait and her strength is, the answer that's arrived to is her "love of peace" and like

no that's a lame answer

Koana is also a proponent of peace

Her strength, and the important quality she inherited from Gulool Ja Ja is the ability to understand others and forge connections

To understand the hopes, fears, and suffering of those she meets

And to do something meaningful to make a difference in their lives

Contrasted to Koana, who only viewed things from the angles of "problem solving" and "general advancement and prosperity"

and couldn't see any way other than "just copy whatever Sharlayan's doing"

Speaking of Koana he does deserve a dive of his own but that's for another day

But yeah like the basic idea here is just

Y'all didn't need to make her have such a bad first impression

And that you need to emphasize her strengths more

Anyway I know another issue people have is that Wuk Lamat is way too attached to the hip to the WoL an easy solution to that would've really just been to include a third person to the split up groups

Having another NPC to bounce off of would make her seem less attached to the WoL and help her forge stronger connections to the rest of the entourage

Anyway I wonder if the writers were just like. Too afraid of making Wuk Lamat look like a Mary Sue or something so they veered off so hard in the other direction that she just honestly looks completely incompetent at times

And like for every moment we get where she shines we get like three where she's looking like a comic relief joke character

And her shining moments need to shine more!

When she saves the chirwagur from the bird, her answer to why should be a wishy washy "I don't know" "I guess I just didn't want you to die"

It should be "because we are all Turali and it's my job to protect my people"

like at this point she's learned via alpaca to face people averse to her and reach out to them even when they metaphorically or literally spit in her face

and it shows that she's willing to consider the chirwagur her people even when they actively spurn her

It would have been better for her to let the bird attack the chirwagur and she knows this

And she can carry this moment with a small group of chirwagur into the Yak Tel segment, where she has to contend with an entire village actively against her

anyway I am actually sleepy now zzz I will probably add more later

I do kind of wonder how the writing credits ultimately work out because I can’t tell if I’m just trying to attribute the parts of the story I thought were weak to a guy who did a sidequest series I thought was bad or if it’s Kawasaki on his weird bullshit again

Like I keep going back and forth on whether I think he can cook or not. I do feel like “I know fuck all about all these other cultures” feels like a miss comparable to “we’re just pretending cid was fine with Gaius after Prae now”

along with commitments to bits that feel fine when they’re about funny fairy tale animals but end up feeling weird as the cornerstone of a main character

It is something to think about, though I don't know nearly enough about the subject to even speculate

I thought about things more and I'm coming around to the idea that Wuk Lamat (and by extention, Koana) shouldn't actually be named Dawnservant until later in the MSQ possibly as far as until the end

So that they can both better prove to the people and the player why they deserve the title.

It is mentioned that Gulool Ja Ja won't actually yield the throne unless he believes that the winning candidate deserves it of course

But it's easy to forget a single line in a cutscene

And given the peoples' doubts about Wuk Lamat earlier, they will need some convincing

honestly it’d be nice to have Gulool Ja Ja around longer I love lizard dad(s)

Same though I do think it is important for Gulool Ja Ja and Zoraal Ja to have their duel

One possible solution would be that the Rite is interrupted right at the end or the attack happens before Gulool Ja Ja officially names Wuk Lamat successor

So the throne technically "empty" with Wuk Lamat and Koana serving as the temporary Dawnservants out of necessity and crisis

Anyway I know that functionally doesn't change much, but it'll look more like Wuk Lamat and Koana deserve to be Dawnservant for their actions instead of (what looks like to an outsider) because Wuk Lamat won Gulool Ja Ja's little game

Another thing I want to add to the game is a scene during the attack on Tuliyollal where Wuk Lamat goes to Bakool Ja Ja who is in Landsguard custody (having willingly turned himself in after the events of Mamook) and releases him

And he's confused as to why and she explains that she is asking (emphasis on asking) for his help to defend Tuliyollal

And he's like "do you think this is a wise idea? releasing the man who unleashed Valigarmanda and was previously planning to subjugate your people"

and she just says that she trusts him

A scene like this would do a lot for the story IMO

1. It explains why Bakool Ja Ja is even in Tuliyollal to begin with at the time of the attack, much less moving around it freely

2. It handles the "so they just kind of let Bakool Ja Ja off without consequence?" issue a little better

yes it is mentioned in optional content that Wuk Lamat spared Bakool Ja Ja the worst and commanded he serve in the Landsguard as penance but this puts it directly in the MSQ

and crucially explains it sooner

anyway 3. It shows off Wuk Lamat's kindness even towards her (former) enemies

4. It parallels Bakool Ja Ja placing his trust in Wuk Lamat during Mamook

5. It helps them grow their budding respectful relationship that started in Mamook

6. It's better for Bakool Ja Ja's redemption arc where he has the option to just. Leave. Abandon Wuk Lamat and Tuliyollal in their time as need when he and his people saw them as the enemy for so long. But he doesn't.

He stays to help

Because he truly understands now the values and principles that Gulool Ja Ja used to unite all of Tural

And that he wasn't blessed with life to be an instrument of misguided ambitions or carrying the imaginary burden of hundreds of dead children

But that he should be using the life he was lucky enough to receive to live how he wants to and be a good person, and that is how he can truly honor those who came before him

He stays and helps because he wants to, not because he's indebted to Wuk Lamat, but because he sees her vision now

And this can lead into later, that if Wuk Lamat can change Bakool Ja Ja, maybe she can change Sphene too (she can't, but it was still worth the effort to get to know and understand her)

Indeed. I also did kind of want something between Gulool Ja Ja and Bakool Ja Ja because all the times GJJ looks really exasperated with BJJ takes a different vibe when you Know

oh yeah that would be cool and would go into the hypothetical "how I would improve Bakool Ja Ja" edition

Like I’m mostly happy with Bakool Ja Ja even if I do think the resolution was a little clumsy

Bakool Ja Ja's general story was fine, I think it just needs more general expansion

I'll have to find a way to fit such a scene in which is hard when GJJ has his ass firmly parked in one spot for 90% of the story

like you could put one in after Yak Tel/before the succession but I'd kind of want something before BJJ has learned his lesson

I think the worst part is I do see these criticisms of Wuk pop up in Twitter discourse but its used by both reasonable ppl and completely unhinged MAGA ppl that are furious abt Sena Bryer voicing Wuk that its impossible to have a normal objective convo abt DTs flaws

but yeah I agree with all of this and I find it so odd they didn't write Wuk as the approachable, dedicated Promise when thats entirely what Sphene ends up being. the foil template is there, idgi

it's very difficult because even outside of MAGA there's just people who are being disingenuous to begin with

like I once saw someone say they didn't like Wuk Lamat because she was "entitled" like what

*ends up being for Alexandria when we first meet her, sorry lost a whole sentence there

HUH

the Wuk Lamat who spends half the story with the worry in the back of her mind that she doesn't deserve to compete for the throne?

She's entitled to taking part in the competition she is LEGALLY ENTITLED TO PARTICIPATE IN?

a lot of people when "criticizing" Wuk Lamat just name a bunch of negative traits and say that's what she is even if that isn't ture

yeah MAGA was shorthand sorry. there's just a horrible venn diagram of conservative politics and bad gamer takes driven by "girl too manly, needs 36DDDD titz"

yeah I get it

like I've said before a lot of the reason people hate Wuk Lamat is because she isn't sexy

and how dare my game full of hot people have a stinky furry in it

didn't they make Au Ra less creaturelike bc of this exact sort of negative reception back in the day?

I don't know the reason why it was changed so I cannot confirm nor deny

but I do know that there are a lot of players in the game that are just like. Straight up prejudiced against Hrothgar

like people blamed Hrothgar for being the reason Viera couldn't wear hats

Because "dev time went to Hrothgar instead of finishing Viera"

and like yeah also being hot doesn't fully exempt you from scorn, exhibit A being Lyse so it's also "how dare a girl steal my spotlight"

so if you made Wuk Lamat an attractive male character no one would have an issue with her (him)

like I don't think it's a coincidence the fandom zero lasered in on Koana as being the only "good" Dawntrail character until Waifu Sphene came into existence

Anyway it's also like "Wuk Lamat sucks for getting kidnapped and forcing us the rescue her" you know who else got kidnapped, forcing us to rescue them?

Aymeric

and Aymeric's kidnapping had MUCH dire consequences

As it was the event that led directly to Haurchefant dying

but no one takes Aymeric to task over that

even though Aymeric getting himself kidnapped is a top 10 boneheaded stupid move in all of FFXIV

at least Wuk Lamat can say that she didn't know the person who kidnapped her had bad intentions

JSHXHGDBD

meanwhile Aymeric over here is "I'm going to ask my clearly evil dad who doesn't like or respect me to stop being evil. I'm going to go alone without help or backup" then immediately gets grabbed by the Heavens Ward

Coming back to this I do think it would have been nice if like. Wuk Lamat’s early supporters are a bunch of old people so I feel like one of them could really easily be like “yeah she arranged a donation drive when my husband broke his leg and couldn’t help with the market stall she’s got my vote even if she’s silly”

Yeah it's just super underwhelming when people are like "I don't want to go back to the days of war so I support Wuk Lamat" but like

Koana is also anti-war

he makes this stance very clear

and I'd want to people to support Wuk Lamat because they support her, not because they oppose Zoraal Ja

Even if it's just a simple "only Wuk Lamat seems to really stand for what it means to be Turali"

"Only Wuk Lamat seems to have Tural's interests at heart"

Zoraal Ja wants to go on a quest of domination while Koana only cares about Sharlayan it's a simple avenue to go

“Wuk Lamat cares about the little guy”

Yeah there's a lot of circle overlap around her and it's super frustrating

The seasick bit made me so tired

It's so weird like you look at Ysayle and that's like a general incompetence thing

You look at Y'shtola and that's a "we're afraid of her being an actual character"

You look at Wuk Lamat and wonder "were they trying to make the player hate her?"

It's like "oh we can't have our new characters be too likeable"

Anyway like, despite all these hiccups I genuinely do believe Wuk Lamat is a good character

They just managed to engineer a set of circumstances that greatly amplify her worst traits and hide her good ones

Like I do think it's important for FFXIV to have characters who aren't the strongest or the smartest or the most hyper competent like most of the main cast are

And to have those characters voice their insecurities and overcome them to succeed

so it's like

I understand why people wouldn't like her, but she absolutely does not deserve the rabid vitriol hate that she gets

Wuk Lamat haters have literally made it their entire personality

Not even Wuk Lamat lovers think about her half as much as they do

and I do fully believe the political climate of today's world like I mentioned in the beginning only amplified it

like you take a character that isn't a conventionally attractive woman, you make her and the story around her latin america inspired, her English VA is trans and then you do her dirty like this it's like blood in the water for the culture war sharks

Also as a minor aside I think it would do Wuk Lamat a lot more good if you actually make it clear she's extremely young

She is canonically at the oldest, 19

It's only stated once in the MSQ and in an extremely roundabout way (Wuk Lamat mentions offhandedly that 20 summers is "more than she's seen" meaning she is less than 20 years old)

It would give the people of Tuliyollal a natural reason to doubt her abilities because she's literally still a goddamn teenager

Regardless of how skilled and competent they are, people would naturally have reservations about putting a teen on the throne

Koana is probably only a few years older than her, but "in their 20's" sounds a lot better than "in their teens" even if the actual difference in years isn't that big

I feel like the youth thing is kind of emphasized because ShB and EW had so many Adults Doing Things too

The twins have grown up and everybody is experienced people solving massive fucking problems

It is a little jarring for your main companion to then be so young (it's not bad! It's just different!) but like lbr if she was Alphi 2.0 it would've been fine

By which I mean if she was a male young naive person