It's just a thought, but...what if Lunafreya was a real character? No, no, hear me out. What if she had motivations other than seeing the protagonist again, and could influence on the plot in ways besides getting the One Ring to Noctis? Don't get me wrong, there's the bare bones of a personality there, but I'm talking real agency. Something compelling to contribute that couldn't be accomplished by an express delivery driver or anybody else?
For instance: Luna has a unique circumstance that the rest of the main cast do not. She spent something years in Niflheim captivity, around all that tech that's being used against Lucis now. What if, say, the bros are in trouble and Luna saves them by piloting an MT, because she picked up on a lot over the years because nobody saw her as an individual who is intelligent and willful, only a sweet, docile Princess and thus vastly underestimated her? Like the writers. What if her knowledge of the Empire comes in major handy taking them down, making her an integral part of the gang? Let's do something with that, yeah? Make it useful. Make her useful.
Personally, I wanted to see her bond with the Bros. Maybe they need her to come with them for Oracle reasons, or just so they could protect her, and she becomes an honest-to-god part of the group. At first, the guys are polite because she's a Princess and a Girl and accustomed to a certain life, but ultimately are each able to make a personal connection with her. She wants to know more about the world, so they show it to her. Maybe Ignis teaches her to cook. Prompto teaches her about King's Knight and videogames. Gladio trades funny stories about Noctis' early training days. They become pals. It's great. One day they come into a town that has an arcade like the one in Insomnia and Noct and Prom reminisce on the old days. Luna wants to try this "arcade", despite being told it would likely not be her scene. Hard cut to an hour later when Luna is absolutely owning (alternatively: raging at) a particular machine, while Noct is watching on with what I can only assume is The boner, and it's a side to her nobody ever anticipated. I want bonding and goofiness please I'm begging here.
Speaking of Noct, I wanted more screentime with them. Come on, I really, really want to ship this one. But I need to know why they like each other, other than something something childhood friends. Show me more of their friendship, other than Luna expositing for the plot's sake. Show me the silly, childish games they played. Show me their antics. Show me Luna making Noct smile for the first time since his mother's death (and Regis being like "I would protect this girl with my life" being the start of his seemingly almost fatherly affection for her). Show me why Noctis has been pining for her all these years, give me more of their diary entries. Make me fond of her. I want to see them have chemistry. In the same way Noct appreciates the world that doesn't treat him like royalty and comes to enjoy helping others, give me the same for Luna. Have them take on stupid cat-feeding sidequests together. Watch the stars from the Regalia. Fight monsters. Joke. Laugh. Talk. Let them bond. Give Noctis the slow realisation that, regardless of any arrangement, he would have wanted to marry her anyway. That she's genuinely a kind an endearing person with nuance and layers, who can understand the experience of growing up under so much pressure, losing one's family, and feeling very much alone. Let them fall in love honestly and truly.
And then, if you still wanted to kill off your main female lead, I promise, it'll be a LOT sadder.
And goddamn it, I wanted her to turn on the gods in the end! (Mainly Bahamut. Idk, Ramuh just has major grandpa energy, I literally can't hate him. Shiva vibes. Leviathan...can stay, but you're on thin fucking ice, buddy.) Listen. Ardyn and Aera are supposed to be narrative parallels to Noct and Luna, yeah? I think we can all agree. A Caelum destined for the throne only to have it ripped from under him; a pretty, gentle, blonde-haired Oracle destined to serve. But they're different, subversions of one another, because while Ardyn is consumed with darkness, used by the gods, and destroyed in order to clean up their mess, Noctis is...also used by the gods and destroyed to clean up their mess. But it's different because he's the good guy(?) (That's another can of worms, though.) Aera put her duty to serve above all else and died at the hands of one of the Caelum brothers as a result, but Luna...also did those things. And no, I'm not incredibly bitter. I just want her to be. Like, "Hey, what the hell, guys? I grew up in captivity and you couldn't take five seconds out of eternity to help? Maybe not let my home burn in the first place? Also, sacrificing an innocent man: kind of a dick move. I've seen more of this world in the past few months than all my life and it slaps out here. If you got off your godly asses and allowed humanity it's own agency, perhaps - just perhaps - you'd also feel strongly about it. It's not my job to serve you, it's my job to communicate with you on behalf of the people, and on behalf of the people, *raises middle finger*"
Bonus points if she convinces the other gods to turn on him for her because they're actually pretty fond of humanity and don't actually want to hurt them. That'd be really cool. God fight. But that's my own weird preference.
Anyways, the point of this long-winded rambling isn't to whine about how much I hate Luna. Just the opposite. She's a big ball of wasted potential, and I wanted better for her, damnit!! And if I have to write what amounts to an entire AU in a long-winded, rambly post on Tumblr.gov only to realise a minute later that I forgot something to get it, then so be it.
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