Warning: Contains spoilers for the end of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn's main story quest.

About

Such Devastation… This Was Not My Intention… is a memorable catchphrase from Gaius van Baelsar in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. The phrase is often used as a copypasta as well as a snowclone which replaces the word "devastation" with a similar-sounding word.

Origin

The line is first heard near the end of the main story quest "The Ultimate Weapon". After defeating the first phases of the Ultima Weapon in which the three captured primals it contained are defeated, Lahabrea will appear to reveal the device's true power, which is its ability to cast Ultima. Lahabrea then proceeds to activate Ultima, which causes a massive explosion of energy that wipes out not only the Praetorium, but also takes down several airships that were in the area around it. As Lahabrea laughs at the carnage, Gaius replies "Such devastation… This was not my intention…" (scene shown below).

Spread

Memes about the line began appearing in 2020. For example, on November 25th, 2020, Redditor Mimi_Sama posted a Swole Doge vs. Cheems edit to /r/ffxiv,^[1] gaining over 2,000 points in nearly two years (shown below, left). On September 7th, 2021, Twitter user @AngriePeanut^[2] posted a joke with Parappa the Rapper, gaining over 1,600 retweets and 3,200 likes (shown below, right).

Others made video edits surrounding the line. On September 14th, 2020, YouTuber Lyla.mp4 posted an Eekum Bookum parody with the dialogue, gaining over 16,000 views in two years (shown below, left). On September 7th, 2021, YouTuber KyriosRat posted a Patrick's Jar edit that gained over 142,000 views in a year (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References