she and eins are foils, so youre only getting half the picture atm while i ramp up to sharing more lore of my ocs. this thread is already so long... but i hope one day she can be counted among your problematic faves

this is ofc, a very simple summary, though at her core joan is a very simple kind of character. what makes her story interesting to me is when her black and white way of thinking is put up on a pedestal in a world that is nuanced and complex and where heroes are villains in someone else's story.

and she does not care to know what makes you a person. hydaelyn says to protect you, so joan will. if joan needs to be executioner, she will be. she can never hate or love, for a weapon only serves the purpose of the one who wields it.
those who serve the will of god are blameless.

many see her as a tragic hero, an innocent girl sacrificing her life to protect the star! how noble and devout! but she will only save you if it is hydaelyn's command. beneath the quiet politeness she is cold. not because she hates you but because she does not understand what it means to be a person

both in character and for meta reasons, joan was made to fill the role as hero to carry the ffxiv story as close to canon as possible, where eins surely would not. that is reflected in her sense of self. she doesn't consider herself to be someone, only the sword in hydaelyn's hand.

eins got fucked up by the whole gig as well as some timeloop bullshit but thats its own separate post. this aint about him! the summary is he goes rogue and ends up wanting to free himself from the shackles of being the WoL and eventually kill hydaelyn. that is when joan takes up the mantle.

she was kinda just Like That from the start. like she knew her fate would be that of hydaelyn's chosen. but joan did not start out the WoL in the current timeline. eins, the closest thing she had to a friend at the convent, was the WoL first for a time.

they were able to recognize the power as the echo, so off to the convent joan went. the problems still persisted but at least were able to be more regulated. she was alone a lot, even in studies. but she did not mind because she did not want for anything. she knew her only service was to hydaelyn.

the effects spread through her small town so much that people started to think she was in league with voidsent by how much everyone was getting fucked up. they were going to kill her, and she would have died willingly, but as fate would have it a traveling member of hydaelyn's convent was in town.

a funny comparison is to say she is like the plants in The Happening (2008) lol. also fun fact yes she 'cries' blood. essentially the closest thing to stigmata without having her wear a crown of thorns constantly. its holy symbolism. you get it.

as she got older the nature of her echo became more obvious. those who joan gazed upon would start to feel their intrusive thoughts and urge to sin be amplified, a pull toward blissful self destruction. it can vary from habit more benign like staying out too late at a party, to fully offing oneself.

joan was an uncanny baby. quiet, staring, never crying and barely needing to eat. those in her presence would constantly feel like they were being watched, even as joan lay slumbering. very unsettling to her parents as they struggled to care for their child.

there are convents dedicated to raising children with the echo to try and find the next WoL. like the padjal, those with the echo are expected to leave their former lives behind and dedicate themselves to the church.

also, there is usually only one warrior of light at a time. one dies to end a calamity, another takes their place. this is the way of things and is expected. it is the holy role of a destined martyr. others can still have the echo though.

AA TY that is very kind of you! i will save this

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcxD...
supplemental material... this song inspired her 100000%, if you dont want to wait for my ramblings this is the tldr ahead of time lol GOODNIGHT

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