very happy to see more people find my ffxiv lore insanity posts because this means my ishgardian analysis thesis post has an audience and i can talk about the importance of the firmament questline because it involves house durendaire (powerhouse of ishgard under the holy see's influence, enforcing their doctrine thru a constant output of dragoons, which are the literal symbol of the dragonsong war and everything ishgard stands for) and house haillenarte (struggling family accused of being heretics, literally creating a job that ERASES the importance and dependance on dragoons thru the machinist guild)
like. when i say house haillenarte is queercoded its not because stephanivien has cunty green mascara and looks like a lesbian i'd find at the bar. its because every fucking haillenarte child thats alive is, unconsciously, one massive fuck you to the church and everything they aim to impose on the people thru ideals of knighthood and glory. i havent gotten that far into machinist yet, but stephanivien is actively (though i cant say if he does it consciously) giving the common folk the means to fight back. which highlights how dragoons are a privileged position for nobility (order of the knights dragoon states theyve only RECENTLY gotten lowborns to join bc dragoons are dying faster than they can be trained) and/or those in vulnerable positions whose trauma and pain are exploited for profit (estinien. just. estinien as a whole) stephanivien is out there creating weapons and gear and jobs that will erase everything that dragoons stand for
laniaitte is possibly the only responsible level headed and competent one, the closest thing to a knight they have and shes stuck in the one camp that is furthest away from dragons. which could also hint towards the sexist ideas that ishgard holds even if implicitly. bc they put their only fucking daughter, who is clearly equipped to do more than stand around, in the one place where shes supposed to stand around. i dont fucking know what aurvael does but it speaks volumes that his most important contribution is to help the firmament gather resources for ishgard
and then francel. god. francel. runt of the litter youngest child kidnapped at 11 years old. accused of heresy bc his family flopped at protecting two vigils. but also best friends with another out of place man who is a bastard child. francel, who sucks at everything that his country tells him to aspire for. francel, who symbolizes ishgard's reform and hope of change in the firmament quests
house haillenarte hurts me because ofc they struggle under the holy see's doctrine. ofc they flourish once the country is allowed to heal and grow. ofc the only son that ever became a proper ishgardian knight in their father's eyes is the only one that died and i cant even spell his name bc all theres left of him is one or two quests of laniaitte mourning him. it started with a c. chloroform. columbo.
