#this is me half asleep trying to piece together wtf tgeyre doing with him in endwalker as someone who just started it i think

[insomniyawn]

hi im zee and i have a lot of feelings about magnai oronir! rambling about it a bit under the cut

i think hes really easy to misinterpret, but on the flip side of that i cant even blame people for it. a lot of his character shines through in optional dialogue, such as him musing on baatu's wife being a great healer who tended to him after naadam. i think its a cute look into his views on love- its easy to interpret him as some incel-y dom type, but you get little bits like that where he shows how he wants to be doted on. how he envisions his fairy tale romance!

which isnt to say he isnt a more dominant type. he doesnt hesitate to walk up to yshtola and plead for her answer, and even in optional dialogue he worries he may be too much, "if i were to meet my nhaama on the frozen plains, a woman as pure as the driven snow, do you think that the suns radiance would burn too brightly for her?" of course, we also factor in that a vital part of his spirituality is that he believes himself a direct descendant of azim. he was also khagan, which is a hefty position to be in, so i do think hes more used to that in charge mentality. why he honestly struggles with the idea of a dominant partner.

and this is where i do get the incel comments- hes very much reduced to a bit, which i very much dislike. i think the varied spirituality of the xaela tribes is some of the most beautiful world building in xiv and not only did they do nothing with it; they quite frankly watered it down for not just magnai but sadu and cirina too. it was disappointing to watch happen. though, i dont think hes full on incel since hes receptive to the answers he gets. but that scene in endwalker where hes commenting on how the ladies were dressed definitely had me thinking "youve got to reflect on how you speak to women." hes got a bit of misogyny to sort out. but so does the entire game honestly LMAO, and to be fair urianger also gets "slutshamed" by cirina so its not the most offensive bit to me

i want to say i fully dislike how hes written post stb, but i personally cant help be charmed by how stupid magnai is. i dont think its entirely inaccurate either- i dont think this was intentional, but i think its natural for walls to be formed after being bullied for how romantic his mind was from a young age. for him to respond to that treatment by digging his heels in and remaining firm on what he wants, potentially dismissing well meaning suggestions as the former bullying.

i also cant say i think its accurate though, hes shown in stormblood to be a pretty thorough khagan who honestly wouldve stayed on top if the literal wol didnt step in. i dont think hes as stupid as some bits make him out to be. though to be fair, its entirely possible his brain just processes situations he can approach strategically better as opposed to ones he has to bring emotion into.

ultimately though, i think what he really wants is a partner he can rest with. so much is expected of him, and he yearns for someone who can tend to him for once. i think its really charming! i wish that was shown in a way that reflected how charming it is. again, though, i can say that about sadu and cirina too. xaela lore is some of my favorite writing and they really didnt keep it up in endwalker imho... still gonna kick my feet and giggle every time i see magnai though hehehe