thoughts

i love minfilia. she's funny, smart, and caring. i hate how she's written - she feels underutilized and overused somehow in the worst possible way. which is a shame because i find it nice that the player (theoretically speaking, because everyone's relationships to her is different) spends so much time with her. i wasn't there for 1.0, but i'd imagine that these players have a special relationship with her seeing that they have a different perspective on her than most ffxiv players.

throughout the story, she's forced into the damsel in distress trope. it's a bit inconsistent with her established character lore, because she was given a dagger by thancred, so she would've been at the very least given lessons on how to stab or something. right? though it's never mentioned anywhere in the game whether or not she's actually fought anyone before, so maybe it makes sense for her to be a damsel in distress even if it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

it's also alarming how much the playerbase hates her, and i don't know if this is partly because of misogyny or if it's because of her repeated catchphrase "pray return to the waking sands." and the long travel needed to make to the scions' headquarters. either way, her character is poorly handled despite the achievements she's accomplished throughout the game. the eorzean alliance is only possible because of minfilia!!!! she stopped the flood of light on the first!!!! she became... the avatar... of hydaelyn... *sobs*

i think the reason why i like her so much is because i get upset when people dismiss her and the fact that she's the npc that you spend the most time with in the beginning. she leaves a lasting impression throughout, and i have an npc alt of her on brynhildr. though, because of these reasons, i get scared to log back on her. maybe i'll regain the courage to play through the game on her again.