ok i put this in the tags originally but i ranted too long and tumblr cut my tags off so HERE WE GO
shut up i am obsessed with alphi's character arc in relation to his relationship with the warrior of light (and how it informs his arc overall). so much.
consider that in arr he treated wol like an attack dog. a goon. a minion. literally. it was not actively malicious (it was more rich pompous educated kid-itis) but it was absolutely a thing. he referred to the wol in similar terms no few times and said cool bangers along the lines of, "shame if you had died, i'd have to get another primal killer". which i am positive from his perspective was a fun & even friendly jibe but it came off in super poor taste bc the wol is in mortal danger constantly.
again, not malicious - as others have pointed out on this post, there are plenty of hints that he actually does care quite a bit in arr! but that doesn't change the fact that his ego is massive and while he might not truly think his comrades infallible, he scarcely thinks twice about sending them off into any old bullshit and any anxiety he feels is commonly in retrospect AFTER considering/realizing the danger. arr alphi rarely seems to truly stop and consider what he is putting others through while he is happily playing Master Strategist and deploying people into peril every which way. debatably, the wol's talent at actually emerging from these absolute death traps unscathed only serves to enable this apparent feeling of invincibility that alphinaud is subconsciously carrying throughout arr. not only is he educated and brilliant with multiple successes in eorzea under his belt, he has a nigh unkillable attack dog that he points at things and problems get solved, what could go wrong?
we all know what goes wrong.
BUT POST ARR? THE HUMBLING? and how estinien calls him out for being callous about sending the wol off to fight ravana? annnd how alphi doesn't get defensive about it but seems genuinely shocked to have it called to attention?
that was a TURNING point.
alphinaud had been humbled and was already in the difficult process of rearranging his world view. but that was the moment he had to examine how he actually treated other people - specifically the warrior of light. bc the events of post arr were bringing them closer together, but he fell back into treating them like a pawn for that small moment. and treating people like pawns in his personal ego playpen is what caused the crystal braves incident in the first place.
but THEN, estinien catches that flyball quick. he blasts alphinaud for being callous to his associate/friend. and after that moment, alphinaud NEVER does that again. alphinaud never takes the wol (or anyone else) for granted. he doesn't diminish the peril they put themselves in nor dismiss their mortality. and this is in turn a huge leap forward for him in how he interacts with the world and other people around him. the veil of invicibility that he thought one received purely by being associated with him was suddenly and harshly ripped off by estinien's words.
and the change is rapid. you can tell estinien scared him and the reality took root immediately. when you get back from ravana? he was worried. when you pull the stunt against zenos in yanxia? he was panicked. if in arr he tended to play off any concern he felt, from hw onwards he is exceptionally transparent in his worry because now the pendulum has swung the other way.
but even THIS fear evolves over the expansions. as time continues, he begines to vocalize more and more that he is worried about the wol - but that he has faith in them. and when they come back, he always states how he is RELEIVED to see them triumph over every fuckass situation they have to deal with. and it's so gratifying to see him reach this middle ground. to find balance between awareness of his comrades' mortality and faith that they will prevail.
most of all i think this culminates BEAUTIFULLY in shb - near the end - you probably can guess the part. skirting around spoilers, but there is a missable dialogue (before accepting a quest) with alphinaud where he tells you - paraphrased - "you are more important than your duty." and isn't that a GORGEOUS summation of the character arc alphinaud has gone through, how he has gained such a deep empathy for ALL peoples around him, how he did not lose his ideals in his failings but instead fortified them and shifted them to be a cornerstone of his new way of approaching the world. how he was once a brat pushing tiddlywinks around a checkerboard but has cultivated genuine strength, politically and interpersonally, with the compassion his ego never could have afforded him.
chef's. kiss. sorry for such a long ramble but alphinaud's character arc over the expacs is genuinely one of my favorites period, it's so well done and one i'm privileged to have witnessed. his writing is spectacular and little moments like the ones screenshotted above are SUCH pivotal moments into it actively happening, i get super excited whenever i see them!
