#DID YOU EVEN DO LYNEYS STORY QUEST

[kaeyapilled]

can i be honest. the way you guys reacted to traveler being mad at lyney and lynette for not telling them they were fatui is kinda silly

[romaritimeharbor]

HEARTH FLAME. — In which the Knave's heir decides their fate.

— trigger & content warnings. depictions of injury (& the recovery following it), pain medications and slightly implied impairment of judgment because of them. it isn't really outright though and could honestly be ignored.

— pairings & notes. ambiguous genre; may be considered hurt/comfort. arlecchino & heir!reader. reader is gender neutral (they/them pronouns used). reader is a member of the house of the hearth and is arlecchino's chosen heir. occurs after the events of arlecchino's story quest. 2.1k words.

— author's thoughts. i would say "i swear i'm very normal about arlecchino" but i feel as if we all know that is not true. anyways for those that care about the lore behind this series of fics, i perceive this as the "turning point" in arle & [name]'s relationship in which the latter begins to realize how serious being the knave's heir is. but rn they are delirious on pain meds and do not realize the fate that they have condemned themselves to. yeag

       Lightning struck their body at even the slightest of muscle twitches.

       The bruises on their skin hidden underneath gauze and bandages throbbed with agonizing heat, their insides twisted and churned as their body attempted to repair whatever manner of internal injuries that they had oh-so lovingly been gifted, and their mind begged for restful sleep.

       (No matter how tired they were, ever since they had awoken after being asleep for about a day, they had not been able to fall back asleep again... at least, not in a way that mattered. Their sleep was plagued by nightmares and worries that they could not shake, all concerning the very person who had put them in this condition in the first place. She hadn't come to see them yet. They were certain she would have, but she hadn't.

       Was father... upset? Did they upset her?)

       A soft sigh left their lips as they stared upwards at the ceiling from their bed—even the simple task turning over was nigh impossible, so they dared not attempt anything other than sleep. At least the admittedly rather laborious task of trying to fall asleep did not wrack their body with searing hurt.

       In their spar, Father was neither kind nor easy on them, and they had a sneaking suspicion that she was especially hard on them. Lyney was already standing again and on the move, meanwhile Lynette and Freminet ended up slipping by with relatively minimal injuries, but them? Bedridden, without the slightest hope of being able to stand in the coming hours... or even days, probably. Their legs pulsed at the thought alone.

       ...But they did take the brunt of Father's attacks, so they supposed that was their own fault.

             — flower of the universe !! 🌸

       "I will not sit idly by and watch you bring unfathomable harm to my siblings."

       Standing immovably in front of Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet with their weapon pointedly raised at the very woman who raised them was certainly not how they had anticipated their day going. Nevertheless, they were in that exact situation, and backing down was the last thing on their mind. Lyney seemed to want to say something—to tell them, to warn them, not to be stupid, maybe.

       ...But really, Lyney knew better, and as much as he worried for his sibling's safety, he also knew extremely well how Father was and how they were.

       She would want to see their display of strength, no matter how miniscule in comparison to hers.

       And them—they would not dare let Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet face this alone, even if it meant risking their safety and wellbeing.

       (He also happened to know that his sibling could be a tad too eager to show Father the display of strength she desired, but that was just his own opinion, muddled by his biases and his own desire to protect and care for his siblings. He knew and recognized how his desires played tricks on him, but it did not make him any less bothered by what he liked to think of as his sibling's 'recklessness.')

       Arlecchino's stare threatened to pry apart their soul at its very seams, but they failed to waver. Instead, they firmly returned her stare, albeit with less intensity. Their grip on their weapon tightened.

       The Knave was going to absolutely destroy them, though hopefully not beyond repair.

       They knew that, and they were fine with that. It was an inevitable truth; so be it.

       In the defense of their siblings, they would be more than happy to shed blood—someone else's, or theirs.

       "...I hope you can forgive me, Father."

       In this case, theirs.

             — flower of the universe !! 🌸

       Destroy them, she most certainly did. It wasn't an unexpected outcome. They knew better than to think that they could actually beat her; at least their showing of strength (combined with that of their siblings' and the Traveler's) was enough to compel her to give a kinder execution.

       'Execution.' Hm.

       Execution.

       The word bounced around in their mind for some time as they pondered.

       They weren't quite sure if they saw it that way or not—on one hand, the mind was killed and reborn, but on the other, the body remained alive and unharmed.

       What kind of execution could be so... gentle? So forgiving? None that they had ever heard of. No executions were so tender and compassionate as to preserve the gift of life.

       ...Perhaps that was simply a different kind of execution than what they were used to.

       As their mind wandered, they absentmindedly mused about what their freed siblings were doing.

       'Filliol and Nanteuil... where are you two now?'

       Were they enjoying the sun?

       Hopefully.

       The soft click of a door opening and closing caught their attention, and for a moment they felt extreme relief—finally, someone had come to administer their pain medications... the ache sinking into their bones was about to finish what Arlecchino had begun at this point—but the click of heels that followed made their chest tighten nervously.

       They turned their head slightly to the side. At their bedside stood none other than the Knave herself, an unreadable expression crossing her face when she saw the state they were in.

       Speak of the devil and she shall appear.

       "Father..."

       "My child."

       Arlecchino was quick to drag the stool at the foot of their bed to the side and sit.

       "Father, I—"

       They tried to sit up, grimacing through the pain that clawed across the entirety of their body as they did. The Fourth did not allow them to get far, however, and placed a firm hand on their chest. They had no choice but to settle back down, as the strength she was exerting against them was far too great for them to combat.

       "Do not get up. You will only hurt yourself—"

       "Father—"

       "—And spare yourself the chore of speaking."

       Their mouth closed without another word. All they could do was stare up at her, eyes wide and bewildered and perfectly displaying all the questions they wished to ask (and a bit glazed over due to the combined factors of their exhaustion and the strength of the medication they had been on), though one in particular stood out the most:

       'Why are you here?'

       Maybe the Knave could read their mind.

       (She had no such ability. To know her children and what they were thinking was simply part of her responsibility as Father.)

       "My child," she mused again, this time not in greeting, though she did not continue. Perhaps she was looking for the words. Her fingers gingerly brushed the hair from their face, briefly brushing over the scratch across their forehead.

       Ah.

       One among the many wounds she bestowed upon them a day prior. One of the most mild of her gifts, actually.

       It wasn't regret that washed upon her upon realizing the severity of their wounds in particular—no, they made the choice to join the fight knowing well that she would not be gentle on them or their siblings, and she would argue that regret was a useless emotion only capable of holding one back. What's done was done. It was as simple as that. Regret, much like sorrow, does naught but hold a person back.

       ...Yet, she still felt something, though she struggled identifying what it was.

       Maybe...

       Maybe, now that the Fourth had seen them and the extent of the wounds she delivered, she felt that she had neglected her obligation as Father to visit their bedside in the midst of their healing.

       "I'm sorry."

       Their voice cut through her thoughts. Though they tried their very best to mask it, it wavered almost imperceptibly, the tremble only audible to trained ears—ears like hers. The Fourth Harbinger was not known for being obtruse. She noticed, and they could tell. Nothing ever slipped by her.

       "And what is it that you are apologizing for, exactly?"

       "I... I don't know. I just feel like you're disappointed in me somehow, and I don't know how else to remedy it at the moment."

       'At the moment,' she assumed, meant their current bedridden state.

       "I know not what has given you such an impression. I am not disappointed."

       "...You're not?"

       "Certainly not. If you are referring to your interception of our spar," she began, "defending your family is the most kingly action you could have taken in that moment. In fact, I expected no less of you."

       "I'm not kingly," they replied, offering a weak chuckle as they continued: "At least, I don't feel kingly right now..."

       "Then how is it that you feel?"

       "Pathetic, maybe." They turned their head fully to the side so that they were able to meet her gaze. "I know I can't and probably will never be able to triumph over you in a spar, but—"

       "Perish the thought," Arlecchino dismissed. "Immediately."

       "Huh?"

       Her eyes bore into theirs. This time, much unlike the time they stared at her in battle, they did not feel fear or nervous anticipation of what was to come.

       "You did not win the war," she affirmed, "but I would certainly say you won the battle."

       She leaned closer. With one hand, she brushed the framing hair that normally fell over her cheeks to the side.

       There, a long cut was scabbed over with dry crimson, and suddenly, their heart leapt—whether it was from an odd pride in having been able to actually hit her, or shame and embarrassment that they actually caused harm to Father of all people, they did not know.

       The Knave allowed her hair to fall back into place.

       "Though the odds were stacked against you and yours, you ultimately managed to wound me. This was something that not even your siblings managed to achieve."

       "I could argue that it's only because there were so many of us."

       "Perhaps, but it was still you who caused this wound. I lost track of you for only a moment and you took the opportunity. Progress does not happen overnight, child, and your strength is still growing. One day, you will be the king of this house. You will deliver these kinds of wounds to others, as I have delivered to you." Her gaze shifted to their bedside table. "...That is, if you so desire that life."

       The bottled flame swirled and flared in the vial under her gaze, as if it sought to melt through the glass and lunge, consuming everything in its wake and leaving nothing but ash behind.

       Ah. Right.

       They had almost forgotten that she had also allocated the resources needed to complete her 'execution' to them.

       Silence, heavy with the weight of implication, endured for what seemed to be an eternity.

       Then, they broke it:

       "I do not wish to leave the house."

       Arlecchino would have been perfectly content with letting them free—with snipping away at the webs they were so deeply entangled in, letting the flames cleanse the darkness from their veins, and thereby permitting them to step into the sun.

       And yet... that was not what they wanted.

       Perhaps it was a blend of bewilderment, pride, and annoyance that stirred in her chest.

       What a foolish child they were, refusing freedom when it was so readily within their grasp. They had earned it, and yet they chose to reject it? How foolish, indeed.

       The Fourth's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she gazed down at them.

       "Hm. Is that so?"

       "Yes."

       ...But that foolish child was hers—her child and her successor. Hers, and hers for a reason, for better or worse.

       If all of the Knaves who came before Peruere were not stubborn, then there would be no Knave to begin with. It was, therefore, only right that her heir be as much of a stubborn fool as she.

       Her eyes seemed to soften, if only by a miniscule amount. Arlecchino placed a warm hand over their own, resting idly across their torso, and they hummed, daring to shift and intertwine her fingers with theirs.

       Brief tender moments, always flickering like a dying flame, were rare in the House of the Hearth, especially when permitted or even initiated by Father.

       Thus, they had no problem taking advantage of the situation that they were in, eyes fluttering shut as her warmth oozed into their hand and slowly crawled up their arm. It would soon consume their entire being, but rather than being scorched by it, they were certain that they would be lulled to sleep by it.

       "So be it, then," she murmured, thumb absentmindedly running across their knuckle. "You are a fool."

       A smile. The first that Arlecchino had seen from them in days, in fact, and it seemed to soothe something within her. "I know."

       "Do not disappoint me."

       Her tone cut as sharply as a knife, but they did not appear to mind a single bit; all they could do was smile at her.

       Even when she was threatening them, all they could do was smile.

       "I won't."

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[shadowboxmind]

Maybe a hot take, but I don't think the Traveler was being inconsistent or out of character in the last archon quest at all. People are getting upset at their reaction to Lyney and Lynette's behavior from the perspective of players, with meta knowledge of the story that the Traveler, the character, doesn't have.

The players know, for example, that because they're playable characters, Lyney and Lynette are ultimately friendly and on "our" side, and we can also trust that what they told us about their backstory is true. The Traveler does not have that knowledge.

TO BE CLEAR this post is talking about my thoughts on the TRAVELER'S thought process. If we want to talk about how I personally would have reacted to the situation, I'm an overly trusting bleeding-heart who would absolutely get scammed and probably murdered by Fatui in this universe.

(Also characters, even main characters who you normally like, can do things you disagree with and that doesn't mean they're badly written. I mean, sometimes they are, but I don't think that's true in this particular case)

But think about it! Looking at the entire situation from an in-universe, in-character POV, it's a really bad look for Lyney and Lynette overall, because here are the facts as the Traveler is aware of them:

Lyney and Lynette are not only members of the Fatui, the primary antagonistic force in this story, but are specifically members of the House of the Hearth, which is known to specialize in espionage, subterfuge, and sabotage.

Both of them also work in a field that would further require them to be masters of misdirection, audience manipulation, and drama.

They "coincidentally" ran into the Traveler right as they arrived in Fontaine and immediately began to do them favors and be very friendly, including saving them from Furina, bringing them to meet their family, and gifting them VIP tickets to Lyney's show.

During the trial, the twins withheld key information, and not just about their identities (and listen, I get it, I fully empathize with why they did it, I get the reasoning, but it's still a bad look when it gets figured out) but also about what they were doing in the tunnel.

They admitted that the entire magic show was a ruse to do, guess what? espionage! To break into the room with the Oratrice's core and find out how it works. To, through subterfuge, obtain Fontaine's secrets about the nation's most important mechanism and central source of power.

The Traveler has known these people for like, a day total.

So what conclusions might the Traveler draw from these facts? When the evidence shows that Lyney and Lynette have a record of misdirection and obfuscation for their own ends? When the Traveler has no way of knowing if even their initial meeting was orchestrated for an ulterior purpose? How are they supposed to know if the tragic backstory is even true, or if that's just Lyney trying to win back some favor and sympathy? In my opinion, at that moment, they don't. Hence the coldness.

My interpretation of events is that the Traveler does like the twins, and wanted to keep liking them, but was struggling to reconcile their initial impression of two friendly magicians with the realization that these two friendly magicians were dishonest with them for most of the time they'd known each other, so they needed to have some space to figure that out.

And for those saying the Traveler is inconsistent, here's the thing: they still helped Lyney. They still acted as his attorney, investigated thoroughly, won the case, and cleared his name. They've done similar for other Fatui members in their acquaintance—they helped Childe with Teucer, they helped Scaramouche/Wanderer with getting his memories back, they helped that other member of the House of the Hearth fake her death and escape the organization—whether or not they fully trusted them, and generally they didn't.

As for the Traveler's supposed hypocrisy, my view of their relationship with Childe is that it's only improved because, despite Childe trying to nuke Liyue in the past, the Traveler knows that

a. They can handle him if it comes down to a fight again; b. He likes them, regardless of if the feeling is mutual or not, and is indeed aggressively friendly to the point where it's easier to just be civil; c. Childe is generally upfront and honest about his actions and will strike from the front, not stab them in the back; and d. He's worked together with them before when they had a common goal (for example, the labyrinth they went through with Xinyan).

They know how his mind works and what motivates him. Childe is a known quantity, the twins are not, and it took in-story time and shared experiences for the Traveler to get to even this point of neutrality; they were openly suspicious of him during his story quest.

As for holding his Vision for him, the Traveler didn't exactly volunteer for the job, Childe literally threw it at them with no warning and peaced out. What do you expect them to do, drop it in the sea? That would be inconsistent with their characterization.

Wanderer's whole situation is even weirder, since the Traveler was able to experience his actual memories and emotions and therefore has good reason to trust that he's had a genuine change of heart. Not to mention that they're not friends, I'd argue they're in that same nebulous "neutral" zone, and that only because Nahida usually functions as a buffer (and also because, again, the Traveler knows that they can handle Wanderer in a fight, and Wanderer also tends to be blunt and honest).

Also, in Lyney's story quest it seems like everyone got over their problems pretty fast and they're all chummy now, so you can all rest easy that the twins' feelings weren't too hurt about it.

Anyways if you disagree go ham, refute my points, whatever, just keep things civil.

[chrimsss]

To Comfort a Magician

Pariring: Lyney x GN! Reader

Warnings: SPOILERS for the Archon Quest 4.0, Hurt/Comfort(? More comfort than anything), Panic Attacks (I believe), OOC Lyney (I can't write a character without they being OOC-), Reader is implied of having an Anemo Vision.

Synopsis: After the trial, it was hard keeping his playful persona. But, he didn't want to show it to anyone, he had to be strong, even not for his sister and siblings, for himself.

But, there was a person he couldn't hide it from, not even with his best acting.

Notes: After the Archon Quest and Lyney's Story Quest, I thought about this and I couldn't get it out my system :)) Might have a lot of grammar mistakes, and I apologize. This was also really rushed.

Breath in. Breath out.

These words were echoing in his mind as he slowly exited the Opera Epiclese, his twin walking right beside him. His smile ever present on his face as he just looks forward.

Breath. In. Breath. Out.

Lyney found himself in front of the Fountain of Lucine, the sound of water appearing louder, almost painful in his ears. Lynette walks a bit closer to him, standing right beside him as she also stares at the fountain.

"Do you think The Traveler is going to forgive us?" The voice of his twin caught his attention, making him look at her. Despite how emotionless she appeared physically, he could tell she was stressed as well. He put a hand over he shoulder, squeezing it gently, "Only time can tell." His answer was simply, but it hid his own stress.

Lynette nodded at the answer, returning her walk towards the stattion, but her brother stayed still in front of the Operar, his mind zooming in and out, just like his breathing

Breath. In. Breath. Out.

B r e a t h.

"I'll stay for a bit. There is some things I want to do before returning home." Lyney says, not giving his sister a space to talk as he quickly walked away from there, towards the Amphitheater. Lynette looked at him worriedly but just nodded, returning her walk to the station.

The magician found himself sitting on the seats at the amphitheater, watching as Coppelia and Coppelius glided gracefully through the performance area. But he couldn't focus on the two automatons dancing, he could only think a out how fast his heart was beating.

Putting both his hands over his ears, he curled on himself, the sensation of his trembling body, the sweat descending on his forehead, the loud thumping of his heart. Everything was Painful.

Breath In. Breath Out. Breath In. Breath Out. Breath In. Breath Out.

The magician kept repeating to himself as he felt his breath get more and more uneven. Small tears appearing on the corner of his eyes while he looked down at his feet.

A sudden gust of wind surprised him, but it was also comforting, as if the air was entering his lungs just as much as he needed. He took a deep breath in, letting shaky breath out as he closes his eyes, trying to focus on his breathing slowly.

As he finally started to calm down, he noticed a soft and silent humming right beside him. Someone was there with him. Frantic thoughts appeared on his mind, 'For how long was this person there?', 'Were they a friend or a foe?'. Slowly moving his head up, Lyney recognized the person sitting with him. Bright (E/C) staring at the two automatons, appreciating their dancing, the cyan vision on them swinging gently, moving alongside the wind they brought.

"(Y/N)..." He whispers, voice so gentle, the contrary of his normal cheerful voice. (Y/N) looked at him, a small smile appearing as they stare at his purple eyes. "Relax a bit more." They say gently, a hand resting on his own. "Just enjoy the show." Then, they turned to look at the two automatons once again, continuing their humming.

The couple continued sitting in silence, as Lyney managed to calm himself even slightly, but he still couldn't focus, he was still nervous about the person beside him. "Did you watch the Trial?" He asks, in midst of the silent night.

(Y/N) simply nodded in response, their eyes moving back at the magician. "Feeling more relaxed?" They asked, to which Lyney just nodded. Removing their hand from Lyney's, they watched the magician carefully.

"I'm Sorry." Lyney whispers, voice laced with regret. (Y/N) hummed a bit before asking, "And why is it that you are apologizing?"

"For not telling you, we are fatuus." The answer was direct, but Lyney couldn't help but feel scared.

(Y/N) simply looked ahead, their eyes going back to the two automatons as they kept silence for some minutes.

"Do you act as Fatuus?"

"Hum? I- No... I don't think so."

"So, you have nothing to apologize."

This made the magician calm down, but his purples eyes widened in surprise. Were they for real? They... Don't blame him?

He kept thinking to himself, in shock, not feeling someone removing his top hat until a hand reached his hair, caressing it gently.

"Your... 'status' as a Fatui is merely a name. You have no real connection with them, it was just an unfortunate timing. As well, everyone is entitled to their secrets..." They explained with a soft smile, caressing his ashy blond hair.

The Pyro-user kept quiet, processing the words before letting out a sigh and resting his head on (Y/N)'s shoulder. The relief making him cry again, knowing they didn’t see him as a bad person. Putting both his arms around their waist as he pulled them closer.

(Y/N) moved their hands around his shoulders, squeezing him a bit in the comforting hug while still petting his hair.

They kept like that, just enjoying each others company, comfort and warmth in the silent night of Fontaine.

[kaeyachi]

So...I finished the Arlecchino story quest...

Spoilers below!

TW: Mentions of Suicide, Child Experimentation, Child Abuse, and Murder/Death

This is, by far, the best story quest I have ever done!

First of all, CHILDE?! CHILDE ESCAPING HIS PERSONAL AMBULANCE TO SNEZHNAYA JUST TO COME BACK TO FONTAINE TO ASK SKIRK A QUESTION? Bro is so funny, please-

please save him.

Wait, actually, yeah please do save him. Pulcinella and Pantalone are both plotting in the background, and they got Childe involved...

I also loved the children! Look at how terrifying they are! They're my absolute faves!!

Lyney cementing the reason as to why Arlecchino chose him as the next King is wonderful to see as well. For some time, I thought Freminet and Lynette had a shot, even with reading their lore. What I have failed to realize is that Lyney really is the inspiration for all of the people in the House of the Hearth. His frustrated and disappointed spiel about Freminet not trusting him with Clervie struck me to the heart. This is an older brother at work here people!

Also if I had a nickel every time a cryo younger brother hid a dangerous secret from his pyro older brother which got them into an argument once the truth came out, I'd have 2 nickels ✌️ (somehow gave me war flashbacks to a scene that doesn't even exist lmao)

LYNETTE IS THE FUNNIEST SIBLING BTW. SHE'S MY QUEEN FOR THIS.

Clervie! Our dearest! I'm not fully sure what part in her design did it, but she barely looks like an NPC somehow. Like, yes, this is still an NPC base model, but... is it perhaps the hair? And the extra lashes??

Also, her calling Arlecchino "Perrie" made me sob. I wasn't ready to hear nicknames!!

The mention of Snezhnayan auroras also made me sob again as well. You know what? This entire thing made me sob.

Clervie's dread and horror at the thought of her own mother, her unrelenting spirit that kept her going in her fight for her fellow peers freedom despite the abuse that she will receive, and her unfulfilled dreams repeatedly being mentioned throughout this quest was heartbreaking.

I do have to say- the animations they released for Arlecchino helped a lot with the emotions we are supposed to feel for this quest. Not only was that good Advertising and promotion for the Arlecchino banner, it also set up the plot that would have not been well presented ingame had they chose to do that instead.

Crucabena and Clervie part of this quest were not the only ones mentioned in this quest, but also that damn dude that she killed with her heels! I personally like the way they released all those animations because the quest feels more emotional and alive now, and we could follow with the story better than before (and it effectively increased the hype)

Speaking of more alive, the facial expressions have definitely improved! This quest had them utilizing various expressions well, specifically for the playable characters, so, again, this really helped with the feel of the quest.

Additionally, adding a picture to scenes also set the tone really well. It's not that pictures have never been included in quests before, but the way these were framed(?) made it look way better than the ones before.

By the way...is it just me? Or did Paimon's voice somewhat mellow out for this quest? I had recently played some other story and world quests, and Paimon's EN voice is admittedly high-pitched and painful to hear in those, but for this quest, it's as if her voice was toned down (like Mondstadt Paimon, but with current Paimon energy). I'm hoping this was them taking the criticism from past and adjusting their instructions to Paimon's VA accordingly, because I loved Paimon's voice in this quest (that or I'm delulu)

Quick lore tidbits before I go back to gushing about this quest:

1. Arlecchino confirmed not from Fontaine (like I legit thought she may be Khaenri'ahn due to the blood moon thing she has going for her, but it's nice to confirm her non-Fontainian status)

2. Crucabena was the one who had a deal with Dottore on sending members of the HotH to him for experimentation. Anyone who was physically impaired or left alive after a duel to death are automatically sent to him. Clervie has described this as a fate worse than death... Peruere rejected Dottore's partnership offer once she became the next knave. Also, Crucabena used Clervie as an "example" for those who wish to escape, meaning Clervie received the most abuse (which apparently worsened as the years went by). Clervie lost hope sometime along the way and was basically suicidal as well by the time she and Arlecchino had their duel... Her mindset by that time is that the only hope for freedom to her is death. The popular theory of Clervie letting Arlecchino kill her is proven in a horrifying way with this discovery... (yes, she wanted Arlecchino to be the king, but at the same time, she took this situation as a chance to hit 2 birds with 1 stone)

3. Project Stuzha is apparently something highly dangerous, and Pulcinella and Pantalone are trying to get Childe and Arlecchino involved (Childe was told to aide the project by Pulcinella, while Arlecchino says she doesnt want the HotH to be involved in it)

4. Here is me reannouncing that I am in fact taking the L on the Freminet and Crucabena situation. Basically, the timeline is that at age 16, Clervie dies, and we are left with a 1 year time period for a 6 year old Freminet to enter under Crucabena (I'm guessing this is either a retcon or a means to hide the Arlecchino plot by not having them directly say mother in Freminet's character story 4). After that said 1 year, Peruere kills Crucabena and has spent several months in Snezhnaya before reviving the House of the Hearth and adopting Lyney and Lynette (perhaps the children of Crucabena's HotH simply stuck together during that time)

Basically, yes, Arlecchino is in her mid-20s. Not my personal cup of tea, but hey, genshin ages are confusing most days (Ayato is older than her, and Ayaka may actually be older than her as well... ugh I need a moment please... I MAY BE THE SAME AGE AS HER. NO-)

5. Freminet used to also call Lyney "brother". What changed that, I'm not sure (and if I had a nickel...), but the thought of baby Freminet following around big bro Lyney and big sis Lynette makes my heart melt. Freminet actually cried after Lyney basically told him how important Fremi is to him, so whoever made Freminet think otherwise... 😡 they better square up because we ride at dawn

ok back to me gushing

THE BOSS FIGHT? IT WAS SO COOL! It was beautifully animated, and the fact that they added this at the end?

The fear on the traveler's eyes upon realization of what true power Arlecchino held was amazing imo. We canonically cannot defeat Arlecchino in her boss fight! She will be a weekly boss that we can defeat, but in actuality, we really cannot beat the number 4 of the Fatui Harbringers.

We now have actual proof that harbringers 1-4 are not within our capabilities to challenge, and to add to that horror, this is us fighting Arlecchino with Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet. This is also actual proof that we, the traveler, cannot defeat a ton of other characters as well! (were cooked if we never get a power boost and plot armor✌️)

Also let me sneak in this picture:

Cunty as fck. Powerpuff girls energy. They're the Heathers, and we, the traveler, are Veronica.

And finally, the last part of my commentary that cemented this quest as my top 1:

Everything Arlecchino has done for the House of the Hearth, it was all thanks to Clervie and her dreams.

Arlecchino has shaped the HotH into a more honest relationship between her as the father and them as her children. Everything Clervie hated about the old HotH is now nonexistent in this version.

The children could be set free.

Duels are not to death.

They will not be sent to their doom if they lose.

This is everything that Clervie dreamed of, and this is everything Clervie tragically never got to see and experience because she lost all hope.

Clervie's story ended in tragedy, but Peruere lived and breathed Clervie's dreams for her anyway. Seeing the aurora was the start of Peruere finding the goal of living Clervie's dream, and now, Arlecchino strives to do her best to see those dreams come to fruition.

And the qualities that Peruere admired in Clervie are the same qualities that made her want Lyney to become the next king. Hopeful, caring, protective, passionate, and full of conviction. Lyney will take the mantle and live and breathe for Clervie's and Peruere's dreams someday.

Honestly, I have more to say, but I think this is a good place to stop for now. The dynamics of all these characters have made this experience worthwhile, and I hope that genshin continues with this sort of style in the future. Here's to more amazing stories from genshin!

Bonus screenshot while we are still here:

[verxsyon]

! contains spoilers + leaks (about wriothesley) from 4.1 !

act iv further solidified wriothesley as one of my favorite characters, especially the confrontation between him and lyney. it was so tense, and honestly, it made me terrified of him and even sigewinne lmao. besides that, the reason why i decided to make this post is because i've so much hate toward wrio on how he treated lyney. wrio may be one of my faves, but i feel compelled to analyze what the hell was going on and why he acted that way toward the siblings.

this analysis includes wriothesley's character!

feel free to share your thoughts under this post!

confrontation between lyney and wrio

clorinde said wrio made the right call of closing the gates, gambling with the fact that freminet was still out there. lyney was planning to go into the water to save him without a plan and knowledge about the water. that's what she meant by "i don't think we can save two". the primordial seawater mixed into the ocean was hidden from the public, however, the fatui figured out its existence from the investigation on childe, but that was the extent of their report.

wrio concluded at first that the fatui were after childe. it didn't have to do with the fortress itself, so he left them alone. but childe was a guise for their real mission which wrio managed to pick up on from little info, so as the duke he had to take action to protect not only the fortress, but traveler and paimon along with the siblings.

lyney didn't know that the ocean was contaminated, and he's not an expert diver like freminet. he resorted to taking down wrio since he won't tell him where lynette and freminet were, and thus sigewinne tranquilized him. it seemed like lyney thought that wrio would beat him up. in wrio's voice line about him, he thought of two things: one of which, he can't bring himself to hurt children. if you didn't notice, he didn't actually inflict physical harm on the siblings. uh, sigewinne kinda did with the tranquilizer so...

honestly, if wrio didn't factor the lack of knowledge and freminet's status into the equation, then lyney would've died out there. also lynette since she was close in discovering the secret and thought of the same thing as her twin. so i believe that wrio does genuinely care for the siblings' safety even though he doesn't seem to show it.

hidden rules and sigewinne's secret

i don't think act iii was a waste and it was a nice build up to act iv. wrio asked those questions about the topic to prove that they have nothing to do with childe's disappearance. the stories coming out of them were fabricated by the trio of inmates childe made friends with. neuvillette only asked the traveling duo to investigate childe's disappearance, not whatever the fortress was hiding, which is a good point that wrio brought up. the fortress itself is none of their business.

he wanted lyney to hear that too, but you know what happened next. lyney thought he was going around in circles, but wrio did want to prove to him that those things didn't have to do with childe. he told clorinde that his negotiations don't work even though he believes he specializes in convincing people. i think he has the habit of resorting to physical means, something that he picked up in prison. the fact that sigewinne had to tranquilize lyney which means wrio was in a position where he's forced to fight lyney to get his message across. based on his reaction, he doesn't want that to happen.

want to add onto the aforementioned paragraph, in neuvie's story quest, he jokingly asked sigewinne if she wanted him "deal with the prisoner personally". he does have thoughts of beating someone up so they could get a sense of what he's thinking. but as the duke, it wouldn't be good for his reputation, and the rules are there to give him self-control.

that being said, paimon did point out sigewinne's involve with wrio's project and her interactions with lourvine and jurieu. since her and the traveler did what he asked and pointed out the last question, he agreed to their request.

primordial seawater and the prophecy

the majority of fontaine don't believe in the prophecy because furina told them not to worry about it. about the primordial seawater, wrio deliberately hid the secret from the public, including the inmates, or else there's gonna be an unrest. if it was revealed, then it's gonna be a huge problem. wrio removed the hoth agents as a result, causing arle to send in the siblings. he admitted that he did that to get her attention. that was when he realized that she has the same goal as the people who believed in the prophecy and wanted to stop it. that's why he proposed to meet her to lyney. however, lyney assumed that he's using that as an opportunity to blackmail her through lynette.

is wrio evil?

not necessarily. remember the fortress of meropide is a prison in the public eye and its admin was a former criminal. the fortress is a no-man's land. in unfinished comedy, estienne said there’s no good or bad in the fortress so morals don’t really matter, only the goal of becoming powerful which may be an extension of survival. you can’t expect the residents to be all nice. in there, one earns respect proving their own strength through negotation, connections, money, and other means. a good example is wrio.

how did someone like him become its admin and a duke? in the sq, he mentioned he collaborated with a popular company such as fonta which may imply that he managed to partner up with some bigshot companies in the overworld to make it thrive and earn huge sums of money in return. seeing how the fortress can be financially beneficial to fontaine, he was awarded with the title. the exact details of how he obtained it were in his character story.

wrio unintentionally triggered lyney's ptsd. i know, it's questionable on the surface. he didn't deny that he kidnapped lynette. but this is how i think of the situation. wrio used his connections to investigate the hoth, not the history behind each member. he only knows this much about the siblings: lyney's a famous magician, lynette's his assistant, and freminet's a star diver - nothing more. i feel like he wants relevant information to address his concerns, so lyney's past doesn't matter to his case. if he only asked for that info to be looked into, then he wouldn't know about lyney's trauma.

"he's an asshole and he's supposed to be nice". we're in a prison and its admin climbed all the way to the top with the skills he gathered in there which may be morally dubious. sometimes being nice doesn't get you to where you want in that kind of world. look at sigewinne. she may look innocent and loves to help people but her intentions are freaky that it makes sense how she was able to survive in that type of environment lmaooo.

conclusion

wrio's not as omnipotent as lyney claims to be. at the end of the day, he's just doing his job. although, him not denying that he kidnapped lynette was kinda iffy. i'm still wrapping my head around his answer. still wondering why he acted that way so i'm curious how everyone reacted.

that being said, i really like his character! very complex, and doesn't immediately play nice with the traveler and paimon. i had a fun time trying to analyze his mind process. can't wait for his story quest. do you think we'll investigate the mutual aid society from neuvie's story quest?

again, feel free to share your thoughts here. i wanna know what y'all think!

[strawberrylabs]

Hi! I saw ur reqs are only open for lyney lol and as fate has it I’m DYING for some lyney content :DDD so I decided to maybe put a req!

Lyney x Reader (married? Or not) where they argue right before a big show (please let them make up and forgive each other 🥹🥹)

I don’t have much in mind for the specifics but I do have one where it’s like he has to put up a facade for the audience, but reader isn’t in the audience and everything is just wrong. He tries to perform everything as rehearsed and it looks normal to the audience but to Lynette it’s crystal clear what her brother is going through.

OMG I LOVE THIS IDEA SO MUCH!

i can picture it all too vividly- anon you have a fabulous mind!

WARNINGS: spoilers for Fontane Archon quest and Lyney's story quest, arguments, mentions of injuries and a bit of blood

It's not the same without you...

Synopsis: After Lyney and you had an argument before a big show, the magician just can't seem to get his head in the game without you there.

(note: will be written from narrator's POV)

"Why must you always be so insecure?! I've told you before it's part of the performace, (Y/n)!"

"And I've told you before that's fine, but I wish you'd at least remind them that you have a lover!"

This was not the first time (Y/n) and Lyney had argued about how friendly he gets with some of his fans while performing.

(Y/n) gets that his charm is part of the persona he's built known as "Lyney the magician", and he's never gone further than perhaps giving a flower that he made appear or complementing a smile or two. What bothered (Y/n) was that Lyney never told of his fans when they went too far.

One time, after giving a girl a flower out of thin air, said girl asked Lyney if he was free for a date after his show. And from the way she was batting her lashes.. she was after more than just a date.

Instead of reminding the girl he was taken, he simply smiled and said

"I'm afraid I'm unavailble tonight. Perhaps another time."

And from there, more and more of his fans gained the confidence to become more friendly with the magician.

"For the last time, I see no need why I should have to reiterate my relationship status to my fans when it's already clear I am with you!"

"Because they think you don't care! You never seem to show disinterest or even tell them off!"

"Enough! If you weren't so insecure of you average looks and boring personality, maybe this wouldn't be a problem!"

"..What is that supposed to mean? Are you saying you actually are interested in some of them?"

"Lyney! It's almost time for the- show.. uh.."

Lynette frantically looks back and forth between her brother who looks like he's seen a ghost, and (Y/n) who was now crying.

"I'll let you go. Hope the show goes well."

"(Y/n)! Wait!"

Before the magician can react, (Y/n) ran through the doors of the opera, and out of sight.

"Lynette... do you think (Y/n) will still watch the show?"

"I guess we'll have to wait and see. Let's go."

Lyney looked in the direction (Y/n) had run off too, a frown on his face.

Please come back.

-------------------------------------------------

(Y/n) to the the opera courtyard, and began to walk around the gardens.

The tears slowly stopped falling as Lyney's words repeated over and over.

He didn't mean it did he? He loves me...

(Y/n) heaves a deep sigh as they continue to wonder aimlessly through the opera gardens.

"Ah.. I don't want to miss the show. I should probably head back- Ah!"

The ledge (Y/n) had wandered too gave out beneath them. (Y/n) tumbles through the foliage and flowers, hitting their head on a rock as they come to a stop at the shore...

----------------------------------------

meanwhile at the opera house, Lyney is pacing back and forth during the intermission.

Where were you?

Although Lyney had managed to get through the first half of the show without too much trouble, he was losing it.

The audience couldn't spot the differences between Lyney during his usual shows and Lyney now. But Lynette could.

The way he didn't hold his smile constantly between acts, the way his eyes scanned the crowd fitfully every few seconds rather than smoothly dragging across them.

He was worried. Worried that his emotions got the best of him, that for once his words went too far. He worried that you'd left him.

What if you never came back? What if he hurt you more than he knew and you were crying to yourself someone, thinking he didn't love you? what it-

"Lyney."

Lynette approached her brother wordlessly. She didn't need to ask to know what he was thinking.

"I'm sure they'll be there for the second half. You were a jerk, but (Y/n) loves you."

Lyney smiles at her.

He goes to open his mouth to speak, but is interupted by one of their assistants running into the room.

"Lyney! Lynette! It's (Y/n)- someone found them unconcious by the shore and-"

"Where are they?"

"The gardemek brough them to the infermary here-"

And that was all Lyney needed before he set off running. He can vaguley hear Lynette addressing the crowd, saying something about an unexpected emergency.

But he couldn't care less about the show.

What if you were badly injured? What if someone who wanted to get at "father" attacked you to get to him?

what if your last thoughts were about the awful things he told you?

What if the last thing you thought was that he didn't love you?

He couldn't stand to think of it.

When Lyney rushed into the infermary, he saw you sitting up on a bed, getting you head bandaged by the medic.

"(Y/n)!" He kneeled next to you, hands clasping yours.

"Lyney-"

"By the seven! I was so worried! I thought you had left for good and then I didn't see you in the show and then the assistant said-"

"Lyney!"

He stopped, looking at you as you smiled softly.

"I'm fine. I went for a walk to clear my head is all. Guess I went too far and managed to fall off a cliff."

(Y/n) turns away, their smile falling. The medic finishes up and leaves the room, giving the two some privacy.

"(Y/n)... im so sorry. What I said was out of line and not true! You're the only one I love, and no one could ever hold a candle to you. You're not average, your beautiful! And anyone who calls you boring is a fool! I know you're right about the fans, but I just got.. defensive when you brought it up. I promise to be more vigilant in letting everyone know that you are mine, and that above all I am yours"

(Y/n) once again had tears in their eyes.

"Thank you Lyney.. I needed to hear that."

"Thank the archons. Maybe my brother will stop messing up our show."

Lynette said from the door, causing Lyney's ears to turn red.

(Y/n) chuckles.

"I didn't realise I affected your performances so much"

Lyney smiles.

"Well of course you do! It's just not the same without you watching me."

"Well, I better get to my seat then!"

As (Y/n) goes to move, Lyney stops them.

"(Y/n) before you go!"

"Hmm?"

Lyney pulls them close and carefully presses a kiss to their bandage.

"I love you. More than any show or performance could ever amount to."

You have no idea how tempted I was to make this A LOT angstier-

-Strawberry

Masterlist

rules

[cottagecoreismysaltlick]

Arlecchino’s story quest just revealed how old Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet are. (Spoiler kinda)

Tl;Dr: late 20s

“I wish Genshin would give us solid numbers for character ages!” Sometimes they do. And those numbers give us ages of other characters too, if you pay attention. And yeah, I know the Genshin community doesn’t like to read, but you don’t even have to do much reading for this.

And let me preface this. When you go through this much work to “justify” characters being adults some people will say it’s just “an excuse to sexualize minors”. No. This isn’t even about that.

This is about me being absolutely sick and tired with the teenagers with careers trope.

First of all, what we know:

Childe is the YOUNGEST of the Fatui Harbingers.

Childe woke up the whale when he was 14 years old, and that was 20 years ago. He is 34 years old.

Arlecchino became the Knave at 17 years old.

The Hearth siblings came to the house within a few months of Arlecchino gaining control.

Lyney and Lynette met a magician named Caesar who over 10 days, helped them hone their stage magic skills

Caesar died 10 years ago.

Toddlers can’t do street magic.

Honestly the last couple of points aren’t even needed, but they’re helpful to solidify this number. You’ll see.

Let’s do some basic Arlecchino math first.

Again, she’s canonically older than 34, but if you want her and the siblings to be as young as absolutely possible, we can start there. (Maybe she’s a few months older than Childe. Idk)

34-17=17

Absolute bare minimum, Arlecchino has been the knave, and the siblings have been in the house for 17 years.

And quite frankly, I don’t think the “kids” were embryos when they joined.

But now that we have a minimum, let’s get a maximum to cover our bases. I’m going to use the serial disappearances as a marker here, because given what we know about her she would definitely look into that sort of thing. So she can’t be much older than 37.

So, when did the siblings join the house?

First of all, let’s get a few facts from earlier involved. Cesar died 10 years ago. That means he died while they had already been in the house for 7-10 years (depending on Arlecchino’s age.)

And a widely overlooked fact that personally I think needs to be taken into account more often, is that TODDLERS CANT DO STREET MAGIC.

But I get it, this is an anime game. And for some crazy reason some fans are convinced that characters should be as young as they can possibly be.

So let’s be just, the most generous that I could possibly be here and say those kids right there are 6 years old (anime 6 year olds don’t act like real 6 year olds so I’ll give you that), and it’s been an EVENTFUL couple of months worth of mastering street magic, trauma, and joining the House of the Hearth.

6+7=13 13+10=23

So the absolute bare minimum you are being silly at this point age for the siblings is 23, and depending on how old you think Arlecchino is, up to 26.

Personally, I feel like Freminet can help us out here, but we’ll have to apply just a teensy tiny bit of real world logic if we want to get anywhere. So,

How old was Freminet when he was sent to the house?

Freminet was very close with his mother, he was incredibly skilled at fixing and building things, to the point where he would help bring in money for the family for a few years before he was dropped off at the house with the old Knave where he’d notice other children with depression who he’d seen kill themselves.

Now I ask you, does that sound like a toddler? If you’re going to look me in my eyes and try saying he was sent to the house at 5 or 6, when the earliest of memories are being DEVELOPED, you’re not just silly, you are high. There’s really only so much disbelief I can suspend here.

Let’s be generous and say he was 8 years old. You can still have your over developed anime 6 year old, but at least it gives a few years for him to have been tinkering and making happy little memories before the trauma.

Again, using the youngest possible Arlecchino age,

8+17=25

So baby brother Freminet is bare minimum 25 years old.

In conclusion, let’s use those concrete numbers here to make an age range for the House of Hearth siblings. (I could absolutely give you my personal head canon timeline, yes. Will I? Maybe if you ask nice. But this is about cold hard numbers)

You’re absolutely fucking kidding yourself here ages: 22 for Freminet and 23 for the twins.

Low end: 25 for Freminet and 26 for the twins.

Reasonable maximum (the oldest I think they could be in the flashback is 13) 32 for Freminet and 33 for the twins!!

[yeetmeoffjueyunkarst]

Would you by any chance be willing to do Lynette being given a flower from reader? But like instead of it being a real flower its glass? They made it themselves for her and it has all these different colors of glass to try and make it look as pretty and real as possible?

👌done.

lynette x gn!reader fluff, whether they are together or not, i leave it up to you. Reader is not Traveller, small spoilers for Lyney story quest

A flower for you.

To say making a glass flower is a challenge is an understatement.

When you signed up for a glass flower making workshop that was held by a local glassblower, you did not know it was this hard.

It's not that it isn't difficult, it's just that... You wanted it to be perfect for Lynette. Sweet, quiet, but absolutely wonderful Lynette.

As to how that happened...

flashback 2 months ago

'Say, wouldn't this show on September 30 be your 100th show with Lyney?" You casually ask over tea, as Lynette sips her tea. Today's tea is Earl Grey tea, one of the classics. "Exiting Standby Mode. Yes, it would be. Lyney has been thinking of celebrating afterwards." She replies softly.

"How do you feel about it?"

"Much happy, actually. We've come a long way since our first show." Lynette replies simply, before eating a macaron.

You go silent at her words. Having met at a back alley while feeding some alley cats, the both of you have fostered a budding friendship over feeding cats, and over time, drinking tea as well.

"Perhaps I should take you up on your offer to reserve a ticket to a show after all." You state softly to Lynette.

"Really?"

You nod.

"Alright then, I'll pass you a ticket the next tea session."

What you don't add is the fact that you'll be bringing a small gift for her to celebrate her 100th show with Lyney.

Much thought had been put in place for the gift.

To buy it? To make it? The thoughts plague you. She can't have anything strong smelling because she's sensitive to scent, so no perfumes, no flowers...

Wait a minute...

And that's how you're in the workshop for a private studio session, trying to ambitiously make a rainbow flower.

The first time you went for a workshop, you made a decent simple flower.

And you were going along with that until...

"My brother gave the Traveller a Rainbow Rose during a private magic show for them." Lynette once offhandedly mentioned to you.

"He was probably imitating Mr Cesar, but even I can't deny that was rather smooth of my brother."

And that's how you're trying to make a glass rainbow flower for her.

Sitting down, you take in a deep breathe, trying to calm down.

After lots of money, time spent on this, and only a week left to that 100th show, This was literally the last chance.

With that, you begin shaping the petals, petal by petal. Even though you had decent practice, you still unfortunately burned your finger a little, causing you to take a short break when you were making the green petal.

After a while, all 7 petals are done, and set to cool.

Next up, the stems and leaves, in the color of silver, just to somewhat match her outfit during shows.

Slowly, slowly, you combine everything.

It wasn't the most ideal compared to what you had seen others do, but it'll have to do.

At least it wasn't like the 2nd try where everything went wrong.

"Welcome to Lyney and Lynette's magic show!" Lyney warmly welcomes the audience, you among them.

Most people would keep their eyes on Lyney, for he is the star of the show. However, your eyes were always on Lynette, watching her throughout the show.

The first time you went to watch the show, while most of your friends focused on Lyney, your eyes always focused on Lynette, causing you to miss out the main show every single time.

Call it infatuation, but you were smitten at the start. Daydreams of hugging her, kissing her, cherishing her filled your mind.

You never thought you'll see her outside the show, that day you were feeding cats.

But ever since, you've been blessing the cats, least to say.

In a blur, the magic show was over. Your mind focused on Lynette all the time, the way she'll simply pop out of nowhere, her stoic demeanour, sharp and calculated movements aimed at being a shadow in the presence of the overwhelming light that was her brother.

The show ends, and you head backstage to find Lynette.

"Ah, and you are?" Lyney appears with a polite smile, but what it does not betray is his deep suspicions that you have insincere motives.

"Y/N. I'm looking for your sister. Do you know where she is?" You ask gently, knowing from Lynette's mentions of her brother that he's very protective of her.

"Ah, Y/N." The twins ring out at the same time.

So that's the friend Lynette has been mentioning lately, Lyney muses to himself.

"How was the show?" Lynette asks, internally glad that you, someone close to her, made it for such an occasion.

"It was great! And I, well, have something for you." You awkwardly take out the glass flower, embarrassed at giving her this in front of her brother.

"I'm sorry if it's not very beautiful compared to real flowers, but you told me before that you were sensitive to the scent of flowers, so I thought I would get you another type of flower. I hope you like it." You state weakly, feeling more and more embarrassed.

"Any.. anyway, congratulations for your 100th show, and um, all the best for future ones!" And with that, you left backstage, leaving the twins with each other.

"So... Y/N..." Lyney cheekily asks, with an underlying hint of suspicion and concern.

"They're fine." Lynette replies, stroking each glass petal of the flower. "They had a small burn on their finger." She states softly, face turning red at the realisation that it wasn't bought, but made by you.

"Sounds like you like them, sister." Lynette eggs her on for an answer.

"How about you worry on how to gain back more of the Traveler's trust first? Wouldn't want to lose their affections, would you?" Lynette rebutts back softly, still recalling your blushing face.

She knows of your eyes on her throughout the show, ever since the first one you attended. While she was initally... scared because of past experiences, her personal interactions with you, and all the things her feline friends have been telling her about you when you're feeding them...

A small smile creeps onto her face. Lyney watches, not used to seeing his calm sister a little lovestruck.

Perhaps she would ask Lyney for some advice to be more bold in expressing her affections for Y/N.

Or maybe not, I'm still not sure about how I feel for Y/N. All I know is that Y/N is special to me, friend or more.

"Still, be careful, Lynette." Lyney warns her softly, in reference to their Fatui ties.

She sighs.

"I know, don't worry. We will be alright."

I spent 15 minutes considering what a glass flower was and googling how to make a glass flower.

You can use the link here

As always, likes and reblogs appreciated, Requests are still open as usual

[oh-my-may]

LET'S TALK GENSHIN AND REMURIA AND ARLECCHINO BEFORE I FORGET AND WE'RE ALREADY IN SECOND HALF OF THE PATCH WHY DOES TIME FLY WHEN YOU'RE AN ADULT

I'm gonna start the post with a few paragraphs I wrote just a few days after the patch went live:

So I finished the first Remuria world quest - it was beautiful. And really not as long as I first expected it to be. I probably could have finished it on the first day if I wouldn't have been as tired as I was

First of all the new map is beautiful. You'd think after 3? patches of map expansions where we already got underwater stuff it would feel repetetive but somehow it looks and feels different and refreshing. Maybe because majority of the map are caves where you can walk normally or they're ruins... idk.

I couldn't help but draw parallels between Remuria and HSR's Penacony tho, especially look-wise, the talk of a dreamscape and the theme of music. Especially now after finishing Penacony 2.2 I can't help but feel the two are very similar in certain aspects... the motive of Harmony and Song and Peace and saving a people and Gods? Also the way Remuria looks is so similar to certain things in Penacony? I already said rhis in my post on HSR, this is absolutely no hate whatsoever. I reckon there's only so much you can do with these motives? It's interesting how differently it looks in both games tho.

So yeah, Remuria is beautiful. The music is an out of body experience and encapsulates the whole thing perfectly. I haven't explored all of the map yet, but I like the new mechanisms a lot. The floating books look so cool and just generally the significance of music through it all... *sigh* it's so enjoyable.

So far for Remuria... i definitely missed a few things I wanted to say but it's been like 2 weeks since I played this and I definitely forgot something haha

AS FOR ARLECCHINO THO

First of all she's broken omg. It is kind lf annoying that it'll take weeks to max out her talents, rn for me she's sitting at crowned NA and skill and burst are level 7 each. But she still hits for like over 50k with each normal attack when she has a bond of life. Don't even get me started on her with Yelan MY GOD.

Okay with that out of the way let me talk about her story quest. First of all I find it very intriguing that hyv gave up on the usual pattern of having the second weekly boss for a nation be tied to the Archon and their respective second story quest (besides Mond ig)... i mean yeah Fontaine's archon situatipn is very peculiar but technically Neuvilette has taken over the role for now, right? Neither him nor Furina getting a second story quest makes me think Neuvi's probably gonna get his way later because it'll be HUGE. Again I wanna say that lore wise Neuvi is my fav character... HES JUST SO FNDNDBDN. And Furina is probably gonna get a pretty "random" one at one point kinda like Yoimiya did or Cyno... like its gonna be a good quest but it'a gonna be random. ANYWAY

I wonder how much different I would habe perceived the quest if I hadn't watched the Animated Short about Arlecchino that they put on Youtube... like it's her whole backstory? I could see where the quest was going right from the beginning because of it... that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, tho

Childe's little surprise cameo made me so happy c: MY BOY. He's alive snd well AND IN FONTAINE. Let me remind ypu we last officially saw him in the last Atchon quest gwtting yeeted into a black hole by Skirk. Then it was mentioned at the end that he was being treated and sent gome to Snezhnaya. Well...

The whole cryptic talk between Arle and Childe was quite interesting... so this project by the Fatui, right? (Forgot the name rn bc it's been a few days since I played the quest) Is it fonna be significant for Natlans story? What does it entail?? THE TEASE NNNNGNNGHH

I wonder if at some point in the game we're actually gonna see Lyney become the new head of House of the Hearth. Like... it's mentioned quite a lot in his story as well as in everything that has tp do with the House and Sröecchino herself... I wonder 🤔

Throughout the story I was reminded that one of the first things we heard about her (Childes voiceline that came out in like??? 3.0 or so???). It was that she would turn her back on and betray the Harbingers (AND THE TSARISTA) without second thought. She even says this herself in her voicelines. I just wonder what her ultimate goal is? To free herself from the curse? Which btw they tell us nothing about in the story. Story is all about the House and its inner workings and Arle's feelings about it and plans for the future (which I love btw but still not quite understand)... we also casually get told that Arle is not even that old??? Like the whole thing with Crucabena is so recent that Freminet remembers her???? Amd Arle was maybe a Teenager when she killed her so like??? She's only around 10 years older than the kids????

So how come she's a descendant from Khaenri'ah? I don't know if I read somewhere abput it or if its a rumor but not confirmed or if its said in her personal story which I haven't read yet but... she'a from the crimson moon dynasty? Or has some ties to it? And her curse is definitely related to it BUT WHAT IS HER CURSE EXACTLY. WHY DOES SHE HAVE IT. If she's only in maybe her late 20s she couldn't have been an actual Khaenriahn citizen (same as Kaeya and he still gives me the same headache thinking about this) so how does it all tie together in the end?? Does it have to do with the God of time maybe??? (Nevermind if this is talked about in her personal story in her profile I haven't read that yet)

So yeah... the fight woth her was so cool. The animation??? I saw people get upset about the fact that Traveler couldn't beat her but I actually love that?? Like... She'a #4 of the Harbingers and has some curse probably tied to Khaenriah and she KILLED A HARBINGER WHEN SHE WAS A TEENAGER??? Traveler nlt being this almighty MC makes them so much mlre likeable like yeah... they are obv far from having their actual power back? It took us ... how many times to fight Shuki No Kami before we could defeat it in the final try to learn all the patterns? The game wants to tell us that there's much more powerful enemies in Teyvat and rhis is only the beginning. Let me tell you yeah we beat Signora but it was Raiden who killed her... it was Zhongli who subdued Azhdaha. We only healed Apep with Nahidas help. Traveler has never been able to easily defeat these big enemies, they always had help. Yeah they have been getting stronger, they've been getting access to more elements but the bis enemies are just getting stronger and bigger too... I wonder where that will lead. Maybe the twins are only gonna get their true power bavk once they're united... ANYWAY

Her weekly boss fight is cool too. Using different mechanisms again, with the whole Bond of Life thing and all. She does this one attack in her second phase that I just... can't get behind tho. Someone always has to be the victim, THE SACRIFICE, to get me through haha. Idk how to dodge or avoid that attack. The one where she floats above the arena and then these bombs? Idk? Come down and basically crash down on the whole arena and I haven't found a spot where you can aboid getting hit and therefore killed immediately idk.

So yeah that's all for now. Very excited to play Cyno's second story quest. Heard only good things so far about it, which is good because I really didn't like his first one 💀 probably gonna get around to play it one of these days. Same as with the rest of Remuria exploration, gonna need mlre Clorinde funds :3

(Gonna add screenshots later, it's been so long that the ones I took aren't saved in the PS App anymore 💀)

[mewsmagic]

I DID NOT EXPECT TO DO ANOTHER ANALYSIS THOUGHTS WHATEVER POST BUT ARLECCHINO IS JUST TOO MUCH FOR MY NEURODIVERGENT BRAIN AND I NEED TO TALK ABT IT SO HERE WE GO AGAIN

Spoiler warning for Arlecchino’s character teaser!!!

If you haven’t yet, watch it here!!

Look look. I really did not expect Arlecchino to be comprehensive, understanding or merciful (of her children) since in the Fontaine trailer she was critical of Lyney and Lynette and we did have other harbingers calling her a wolf in sheep’s clothing and things like that

Oh fuck I screenshotted this at the wrong time LOLL anyway

BUT THEN SHE WAS SO KIND WITH THIS GIRL 😭😭

Despite telling her that she told her recklessness would lead to failure, she was not mad at her AT ALL – and I mean, completely fair, girl was literally on her deathbed – and instead decided to deal with the problem herself 😭😭😭😭😩😩😩🤯🤯🤯🤡🤡🤡 I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS FROM A SUPPOSEDLY “STRICT AND UNFEELING FATHER”

Also, this isn’t my main point but the way she showed up like fricking bogeyman and crushed the nasty man’s skull with her HEEL was insane (positively) for me

Anyway LOL then she went, killed him, exposed his crimes and robbed all his money SO SHE COULD ADOPT MORE HOMELESS CHILDREN LIKE PLEASE THIS IS EXTREMELY CHAD AND BASED OF HER

Not only that, but she went back to her child and saw her off herself 😭😭😭😭 this shot of her closing her eyes, gosh this made me really emotional, especially considering what comes next

She did mourn her death!!!! Not only that but she called her “her child”!!!!! Although she appears inexpressive, it must’ve been so hard to see the children you raised part like that.

And considering we’re talking about a whole orphanage, this is definitely not her first time, and won’t be her last either, it must be so hard to be the director of the House :(

Now, I gotta say I like her character even more after all this 😭😭😭😭

I am all for villains who are actually evil and nasty flawed people and I do like characters like that as well, but I feel like in Alrecchino’s case, it was kinda necessary for her to have a softer side?

I mean, again, we’re talking about an orphanage here. Her underlings are literally her own children, children like her who were abandoned at a young age, had nowhere to go and no one to take care of them. Not only that, but she has to train them to become underground agents and deal with dangerous situations at a young age. To become criminals even.

And this is all without even mentioning that she had to deal with generational trauma too. It’s a tendency for this type of children to become the opposite of their parents, and try to do better than them even if they do still have their own flaws. And I think this is shown wonderfully in Arlecchino.

She tries to put a front of a cold and strict father, but on the inside, she’s not as ruthless as she makes herself out to be. Even to the Traveler, who has been an “enemy” of the Fatui in various situations, she did not care about it and instead judged them to be a valuable ally (AND SHE WAS NOT WRONG!!!!)

It's really no wonder Lyney admires her and wants to be like her. Tbh I would feel the same way if I were in his shoes LOL Lynette and Freminet seem to respect her a lot as well, from what I've seen in the Archon quests and the story quests I mean.

I did not read all of the Hearth siblings lore however, so I may be missing some information about how she raised them, and there’s still the story quest and the Boss fight that still wasn’t released and I don’t look at this type of leaks LOL but still, you got my point!

Another point I wanna mention is that this front of cold, unfeeling and harsh could be considered her flaw, even if it’s just a mask.

I mean, it is considered a toxic trait to pretend to be something you’re not. It could be people pleasing (no shame btw I am one myself), could be narcissistic traits like the previous Knave showed, and it could be pretending to be tougher than you really are, like in Arlecchino’s case.

In this case, she’s not only neglecting her own feelings and not letting them out (i.e.: not crying for her child’s death for example), but it can give the wrong impression to her children as well.

It gives the impression that she doesn’t care about them, especially at a young age, and especially considering they’re homeless children who have already been abandoned by their biological parents, and by the world itself.

According to studies on psychology, this situation makes children even more vulnerable to insecurity, low self-esteem, and gives them even more need for emotional connection and reassurance, which Arlecchino doesn't give them bc she's cold.

So yeah, Arlecchino IS still flawed and questionable in her own way, the children do feel the effect of this and her “good side” was necessary for her position and done wonderfully in my opinion.

Personally, I LOVE it when villains/anti-heroes are unhinged at the right people/moments but at the same time still have their kind side and their own issues. I mean, questionable people in real life do also have their good side, and this is exactly what makes them fucking nasty when they're nasty.

But I'll definitely talk more about this whenever I do make a post about Firefly from Star Rail! Gosh I have so much to say about her, just wait for me guys!!!

[mazuriri]

Lyney & Traveller thread

This (long)thread will focus on their relationship, following with Lyney’s voice lines AND also those of the story/archon quest.  I'll show you what I think of them and why Lyney x traveller has become one of my favourite ships.

(Last update : 4.6 quest )

•★ Summary : 

1. About Lyney and the Traveller’s actions 2. Archon quest 4.0 3. Lyney story quest 4. Archon quest 4.1 5. Arlecchino story quest 6. Lyney’s voice lines (+ Chinese translation) 7. Teapot voice lines  8. Conclusion

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/!\  Please note: You don't have to agree with everything I said if you don't have the same opinion. Here, I'm just sharing what I think and just analysing. I'm not very good at rewording and my English is not that bad but if I've made mistakes…. I apologise, English isn't my first language. 

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• About Lyney & the Traveller’s actions 

So as you all knew, Lyney and Lynette are members of fatui, and the traveller will have complicated feelings towards them. Just to reminder, I don't think the traveller was upset just because they were fatui.

 ( And stop with '’why is the traveller all friendly with Childe when he too is a fatui???'’. First, the traveler knew Childe long before Lyney. They even have a fight, they had to deal with him in different places etc... and yes, the traveller also has a ‘soft’ spot for Childe thanks to his story quest + voice lines(companion). They've literally dealt after Childe for several meetings and spending time with him, whereas Lyney has only been there for a day(?), with some interaction before the magic show. I also remind you that the traveller is still wary of Childe sometimes. (Ex: Yoimiya, Xinyan…) They’re not all ‘BUDDY BUDDY’ with him.

What I also mean is that we need to spend a lot of times with a ‘suspicious’ person to fully ‘’trust’’ him.) and the traveller is not always pacifist, they have character development. Remember, they dealt with the Fatui and had the most difficult times. (Scaramouche, Signora ….and Dottore too).

• Archon quest  

I think the reason why the traveller was upset was because : 

Lyney and Lynette didn't say they were fatui from the start, knowing the Fatui are there for the gnosis and bad intentions. Perhaps the traveller thought that Lyney had approached them for bad intentions as fatui (but that wasn't Lyney's aim at all). 

 I also think that since the traveller was their defence attorney they didn't have all the information and their client didn't tell them everything. (Basically: You shouldn't deceive someone when they’re trying to save you/defend you if you understand what I mean.) When your client held VERY crucial information, especially on the case, the traveller had the right to be upset at the twins. It’s all about betray/lying and trust, and I’m not mad at the traveller. They have the right to be suspicious/not trust and forgive them easily, it’s totally understandable after the trial. 

Lyney and Lynette thought they could get away without mentioning their real identities, but they didn't. If Lyney didn't mention his identity it's because he knew that first, the traveller had already dealt with fatui (he just wanted to have a good times with them but...), and second, knowing that the fatui are known to be a ‘’evil’’ organisation. The traveller has already experienced with the fatui and all have the same motivations(bad intentions), they can't really believe the twins easily even when Lyney told them that they aren’t bad guys and aren’t like the others. Anyway, the traveller defended the twins until the end after knowing that they were Fatui.

(The tension between them here..... Why do I feel like this is some kind of break up lol?) 

The traveller leaves and wants time alone after what happened but here, Lyney stops them. It's clear that he doesn't want things to end like this, so he thanks them and apologises, but above all he's there to make things clear. He did not approach them for evil intentions, on the contrary, he just wanted to get to know them and be friends with them. As he mentions, he spoke to them as himself, as 'Lyney'. 

That's where Lyney tells their sad past. A lot of people see the traveller as ignorant and they are mad at them for not trusting them, especially with Lynette’s story (and still with the ‘’ ALL BUDDY BUDDY’’ with Childe crap.) I want to make things clear : they're right not to believe the twins yet. Yes, they feel bad for them and I think they even believe or want to believe their story, but after what happened, they're hesitant because they don't want to fall for another lie… Seriously, can you blame the traveller? But for now, they leave because they heard enough and want some time alone to think about it.

When they were about to leave, Navia came and talks about the disappearance case. But the traveller apologises and tells her that they were only trying to defend Lyney. If you say that the Traveller doesn’t care about him then you’re wrong. Yes, they’re still upset and hesitant but deep down, they wanted to defend Lyney to the end and also because they didn't want to see an innocent man accused. 

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• Lyney’s story quest

Their next meeting is in Lyney’s story quest, and you can see the awkward moment after what happened in the trial : 

Lyney greets them as usual (like he did at their first meeting), avoiding the awkwardness of course. But think about it, the traveller saw Lyney, they could have ignored him but decided to come to him : they want to speak to him and spend time with him. Maybe, they wanted to ‘’trust’’ him again and reconcile with him. Well… they decided to help him with his investigation as his assistant. (maybe Lyney also wanted to get a little closer to them, who knows?) 

If you think this is just a ‘’flower’’ then you’re wrong. Lyney knows what he’s doing especially when it comes with his magic tricks : this flower is called ‘Lumidouce Bell’ and this flower represents : parting and the wish for reunion. 

That’s not a coincidence right? Of course not, particularly with the ‘wish for reunion’…. I don’t need to explain that, because the answer is there.

- Anyway, I won’t spoil everything about his story quest but I will concentrate at the end of his quest

So, we learn a little more about Lyney and his relationships, also about lies and truths… Lyney opens up a little to the traveller, and they begins to understand him a little and supports him. Yes, they have reconciled. But that doesn’t mean that the traveller trusts him completely but they are there for him as a friend, like in their first meeting. 

The traveller comforts Lyney and tells him they will always be there for him. Right after this, he decides to change the mood and he gives another flower :

But it’s a different flower : this flower is called ‘Rainbow rose’ and knowing Lyney, what he gives, has a meaning behind it. The rainbow rose represents : passion and romantic encounters. 

Wow, is this a coincidence or not? Lyney knows what he’s doing through action.

Anyway, here comes the funny part : 

We meet Lyney again with Lynette and Charlotte. You know charlotte, she's here to interview. Anyway, the funny part is when Paimon mentions the Rainbow rose that Lyney started to use in his tricks. ( Traveller)

But, Lynette doesn't remember receiving this kind of rose from her brother(yes, she knows the meaning lol), she jokes if the traveller is more important than her. So, Lyney didn’t say anything to Lynette and didn’t give this kind of rose to his precious sister? Well well, that is something.

And Lyney’s reaction lmao 😂 He doesn’t know what to say. Come on Lyney, you have to take responsibility for your actions. Yeah, you JUST what Lyney hm? He knew what he was doing smh. He literally did the same trick his teacher did to his fiance… In romantic sense yeah.

Anyway, he’s lucky because Lynette said she was joking and he was relieved. Why are you relieved Lyney? I wonder…. He could have justified himself ‘’easily’’ , but he was nervous and hesitated to do so. Well, I know it’s not easy for everyone to justify themselves but you know what I mean?  

Finally, Lynette tells the traveller not to lose the Rainbow rose or she'll be very upset, not to forget that she knows the meaning.

Welp, I suppose she supports Lyney x Traveller ? 

Yeah, it seems like it. 

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• 4.1 Archon quest : here

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• Arlecchino story quest : here

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• Lyney’s voice lines 

Ah yes…. The FAMOUS voice lines. As you can see, almost all of them are flirty towards the traveller. I suppose these voice lines take place after the archon quest and his story quest since they have ‘reconciled’ and Lyney is more open to the traveller. And oh my god, he’s the most flirtiest guy I’ve seen (for now). 

Here, I take both Chinese and English translation. No worries, I’m not saying that the English translated it wrong but just a few voice lines where it's kinda different but they are both the same and flirty. 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

(Chinese translation)

Lol, he wanted to sleep a little more but when it was the traveller who came, he quickly stand up and was wondering why the sun was so nice…. Yeah okay nice flirt, the traveller is a sunshine : confirmed ✅ 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

 

He really observed the traveller to the point of comparing and describing their eyes? Is he attracted to the traveller? Maybe that’s why he decided to be with them and to put on a show just for them. 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

Nice flirt Lyney. Of course, it's the traveller, yeah of course

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

Chinese translation : Ah right, there is one thing that I must emphasize. I don’t talk like ‘that’ to anyone, mainly because it’s you. 

Here, he clearly said that he doesn’t talk like ‘’that’’ to anyone. (I assume he means by talking all friendly and flirty). Perhaps that’s why the title is : Sweet talker ✨ 

(the English one is great too)

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

We can see that Lyney cares a lot about the traveller. He’s doing his best to not hurt them and to not mention their sibling in the discussions. He understands the traveller’s pain and will do anything to help them. *sigh* He’s very sweet…

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

Lyney… just admit that you want them to be your apprentice and call you ‘Master’ especially lol. He’s very curious if the traveller will understand his secrets and how long they’d last… Geez all right Lyney! 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

Not only that, Lyney is also interested and wants to know more about the traveller! He doesn’t plan to lie of course, he said it himself that he doesn’t want to hurt them again. 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

(Chinese translation) 

I love it, It shows that he is worried about the traveller being deceived by the others. Annnd again, he wants them to stare/look at him carefully or he will tell a big lie when they aren’t paying attention…. As you know, this is not the only voice line but here, he really wants the traveller to watch him very carefully……. Yeah, all eyes on him and not anywhere huh?

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

(Chinese translation) 

When I said that he opens up to the traveller and trusts them, it wasn’t a joke. Enough to the point of telling them that this is not the ‘’real’’ him, by saying that he isn’t that outgoing and chatty, so he uses magic to approach people. In the CN voice, he takes a breath and asks them if they would sympathize with the ‘’real’’ him. If you think about it, this is sad. I hope one day, the traveller will want to know the ‘’real’’ him and accepts him. (I know they will.) 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

(Chinese translation) 

Okay, how many times already? This guy really wants the traveller to only think/look at him and not to think troublesome thing in front of him. This is too much,  I know what you want Lyney! 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

This one made me laugh. Literally, the food that the traveller made was terrible and Lyney, who doesn’t want to hurt them, decided to do a magic trick lmaoo. This is so funny help but he’s so kind geez…

 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

Welp, the traveller has managed to capture the magician's heart… He even congratulated them for doing so. Lyney really fell for the traveller huh? Welp. Guys, I think someone has a crush.

What I find funny is that Lyney doesn’t hold back anything and says what he feels to the traveller, even his past, ''everything''. Don’t tell me he’s not ‘’attracted’’ to the traveller because all of those voice lines are impossible to deny, especially with all those flirts. He really tries to capture their heart too? I wonder…. 

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• Teapot voice lines 

Haa, the place where the traveller invites someone into their home and they stay for some time…. 

When the traveller comes, in CN voice, you can hear that Lyney sounds very happy to see them. This guy really likes to see them everyday huh? 

Anyway, the same in the teapot as the voice lines, he wants to win back the traveller's trust (it’s very important to him) and even tries to test them by saying whether he is lying or not.

When the traveller doesn’t fully trust him yet, he is hurt but we know Lyney, he doesn’t give up. Of course, it will take some time as he said but he also takes his time to get close to them because he doesn't want to put pressure or force the traveller to trust him… I mean, that’s not Lyney. (Kinda cute how he’s kinda scared(?) that the traveller will kick him out lmao. 😭 )

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

When the traveller trusts him, look at him : he’s happy, all he wanted was to win the traveller’s trust. As I said earlier, he doesn’t lie to them anymore (?) because he can’t bear to see that hurt expression of them. See? He really cares and it hurts him to see their hurt expressions after what happened at the trial (I mean, of course he doesn't want to do the same thing again). This also means that now, he is ''honest'' with them almost all the time! And obviously, he wants to stay with them because he enjoys their company. 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

So here, Lyney stole something from the traveller. And if they respond ‘’my heart?’’,  look at what this magicien says. Yeah :  ‘’even my heart has begun to race too’’. Basically, he wasn’t ready for that answer that his heart has begun to race. SERIOUSLY. I’m telling you, this guy is in love AND HE DOESN’T EVEN HIDE HIS FEELINGS. 

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

He wants to see them every morning… LIKE HELLO?? 

Remember the ‘good morning’ voice line? Dude wanted to sleep more but when it comes to the traveller, he immediately woke up. When he said that the sun was so nice? But that was because it was the traveller who came? And here, he said it would be great if he could see them every morning?? Literally, the traveller makes Lyney's day even better and puts him in a good mood. (Traveller is a sunshine ✅) 

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• Conclusion 

Now you understand why I ship them? All the proofs are here, and you can’t change my mind. This magicien who hides secrets, tells lies and doesn't open up easily to the others(except Lynette)... has opened up to someone : the traveller, where they barely knew each other. He decided to stop ''lying'' to them, and became honest as he shares his feelings, tells a little more about his past with Lynette, and is always happy to do something for them etc….. If that’s not ‘’love’’, then I don’t know what it is. He even starts flirting with them almost all the time, hmm I wonder why? I mean, he doesn't hide how he feels about them, like come on! Did Lyney fell in love at first sight or what is it? We can clearly see that he became attached to them (as for every characters ofc). 

Every time he flirts with the traveller with his magic tricks and his words and whatever, I’m just like : JUST CONFESS ALREADY LOL

-> To be honest, the tension between them was intense and deep. And when Lyney was really sorry and wanted to regain the traveller’s trust… that just made me feel bad for him 😭. He even said that if that wasn’t for their identities, they could have been good friends without problems. You know that it wasn’t his intention and he really tried his best to reconcile with them (Well, they remained friends despite their identities!). 

You know…. Something like that is perfect for fanfictions am I wrong? I think that Lyney x Traveller is great for angst…. Sorry I love the angst, please don’t hate me. 🙏

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Anyway, I congratulate you on having read this far. I don't usually do this kind of post but this ship really got me and I couldn't stand seeing people misunderstand the traveller towards Lyney. Nevertheless, I’m happy that they have ''reconciled'' ♡. Even if the traveller still doesn’t trust him completely, they’re still interested in him and want to know more about him.

Hope to see more fanfictions and fanarts of them!! (Because I’m starving rn… GIVE ME FOODS RNNNNNNN THIS SHIP NEEDS ATTENTION.)

[sixosix]

THOUGHTS THOUGHTS THOUGHTS THOUGHTS- Akjsdhfaksljhflka Exam season ended earlier than i thought so it's time to poke for details! 

I gotta start off with me kicking my feet over my shared theories from last time. They weren’t fully right but AAAA

The fact that Thawed!Reader was a distraction to Lyney and Father leaving her alone all this time…asjkghhsgaf Her just casually mentioning, ‘oh yeah, I knew she couldn’t have gone far’... And her implying that she had already had a plan to deal with this type of situation before Aether interfered just says so much about her character. I wonder how different it was going to be, because it seemed like she was just going to leave T!Reader be until she actually interfered like now. Maybe use the potion still? Relocation? Her character both in general and here makes it seem like she wouldn’t just kill her without a second thought. 

Also, I like to imagine the research she did into Rosalie was not only to come up with a plan as to what to do now that there were new variables, but to make sure her child was at least going to be ok under Rosalie’s care. After her not-a-answer answer…. Adlkfhjasldkfjlaks Father cares in her weird way it's fine, don't worry.

I love the inclusion of the potion from her story quest by the way! I think it adds a more devastating twist than what I originally thought may have been on the line, like her life. Like, Thawed!Reader would be perfectly fine, but not only does she lose memories of all the recent (and previous) memories such as any positive moments with Aether or her familial connection with Rosalie, but also people who deeply care about her (Rosalie, our fauti trio, maybe aether and paimon?) suddenly lose their friend since her identity is so closely tied to being a part of the Fauti. From being one to becoming a runaway one, almost every action she has taken till now has been influenced by her past and if she accepts then it's all gone. I know you mentioned that Lyney would absolutely still chase after Thawed!Reader even if she took the potion and he had to start from the beginning(which absolutely see it ashdlaksh) but there is absolutely no way he wouldn’t feel any short of hurt by that. Even as he tries to woo her for a third time, he’s going to be holding on to memories he can’t tell her about for multiple reasons. Experiences he adores like sparing but she may not be able to do any more. 

(Speaking of the potion, i do have my own theories on what may happen with everyone involving that… but i’ll share that in a separate ask.)

The Knave’s and Rosalie interaction was so nice; both sets of parents really do be fighting huh. But while T!Reader’s and Lyney’s was a bit more high strung, the other parents feels a bit more like understanding each other. Not that they like it, i mean, look at Rosalie. It felt like two different parents trying to co-parent, if that makes sense? I mean, like I mentioned before, if the Knave really wanted to, she could have just killed T!Reader and even Rosalie and be done with it. But besides wanting Rosalie to act as bait; she mostly had a calm discussion, and seemed to keep Rosalie’s feelings in mind as a fellow parent of this kid. I mean, she even reined in the soldiers when they lashed out at our favorite flower shop owner in their blind loyalty. And her kinda silent approval at Rosalie’s answer about the potion? Why is the set of parents that includes a harbinger having the calmer convo? (Gotta ask as well! What flower did Father give Maman? Despite the meanings, I do think that considering her ascension materials, it may have been a rainbow rose. But if we consider other Fontaine flowers, Lumiose bells also fit well! And Romaritime flowers sadfasfasdf…) 

As for T!Reader and Lyney- akdfjalskjf THE PARENTS REALLY DO BE FIGHTING HERE! Dear god the tension rising in the situation, T!Reader is blinded by worry and anger while Lyney is partly blinded by love and his want to help. Paimon, Aether and Lynette are the audience at this point (although, gotta say, love the explanation to how they know there T!Reader lives! Despite how she’s acting now in the context of Rosalie being kidnapped, it was a perfect compromise to deliver the gift but let T!Reader keep some form of privacy. Too bad it is also working against the twins in this moment with  Arlecchino’s plans. Plus, they may have found out anyway due to the fact their crew of workers had also seen T!Reader around Fontaine in the past. All it would take was one of the workers going to Rosalie’s shop while T!Reader was working.)

Lyney almost said love!! My man had a confession moment!! Too bad that it was in the middle of a fight. That whole conversation had layers I want to poke at for more information. Lyney’s automatic confirmation of betraying Father for T!Reader, her calling Rosalie her mother to everyone, Aether’s hurt at her blaming him, T!Readers fixation on the fact that; from her point of view; Lyney is only taking and taking and taking.But it's her exit that caught my eye the most. It felt like a really cool parallel from back in chapter three when T!Reader gained her vision. 

Both times T!Reader was upset and angry, and Lyney comes in as both connected to the source of her problems as well as someone who just wants to help her. Both times she lashes out at people (the fight/freezing during the first and the cruel words plus biting cold in the second). And both times she walks away leaving behind a barrier of ice (technically it was a door covered in some ice in the second fight but shh we’re still counting it).

I wonder if Lyney also recognized the parallels as well, since his tone switched from stubborn and confident to weak pleading the moment T!Reader starting walking away! Just the echoes of it, I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere in lyney’s thought process was just like ‘not again, please not again’. All the effort and care he took into trying to not scare her off again just went down the drain by Arelcchino’s actions, and just like before, he’s unable to convince her to stay and let him help. However, this time, he has a lead in the form having some knowledge on Father’s methods as well as knowing that T!Reader is going to try and go after her to get Rosalie. And I’d be willing to bet money that he’s going to latch onto that and not let go. 

Also, remember how my first ask mentioned aether being a deadman once lyney found out that he blackmailed Thawed!Reader? Yeah I think we’re at that point, we’re gonna see this man go feral like he did in the fortress. Not to mention Rosalie and (maybe) Arlecchino’s reaction. I doubt Arlecchino will actually do something since the potion is already her plan but I’m sure she’s curious about how the traveler pushed up the timeline. And I doubt Rosalie is gonna be a happy maman once she learns why her daughter started hanging out with the Outlander. 

P.S, totally for absolutely no reason in particular… how do you feel about fanfics of your fanfics?

-deadman aether anon

HHEHEHE IM SO GLAD U STOPPED APOLOGIZING FOR LONG ASKS its about time…. WE LOVE THIS SHIT!!!!!

- father does care!!!!! and it shows even in canon lore!!!!!!! ofc the children wont have it easy and they wont be spoiled rotten with affection but i think thats what makes arlecchinos way of doing things even more special and i rlly wanted to incorporate that here toooo

- yesss:( mc’s entire identity is VERY tied to her “past” as a fatuus! of course lyney wouldnt be happy about mc forgetting everything that made their relationship, because what they had was very special to him!! (and i would love to hear that potion train of thought)

- i think i didnt write it clear enough which is my fault! but the flower i was hoping to hint that arlecchino was giving to rosalie was the “Snezhnayan” flower that Arle bought from her a few chapters ago. fun fact i didnt want to assume to whatever hyv had planned for snezhnaya flowers, but i wanted it to be a flower that had originated from khaenriah but still became relevant to snezhnaya. so to rosalie, it was just an imported flower, but it was one that was unique enough to make her remember whoever bought it!

- and yes HAGSHAHA i found it hilarious to write in that rosalie and arlecchino would have a calm meeting while lyney and mc are a mess and a half. i think it shows that they both have a long way to go before they reach the same level as the other two:)))

- THE PARALLEL!!!! YUUPPPPPPP i wanted to reference it in the next chapter too in case people didnt realize it but im glad u caught it BAHAHAA

- i guess we will find out if aether truly will be a dead man next chapter…. Didnt even get the chance to reunite with his sister ohhh poor boy. this is why u dont blackmail someone! learn from aether, everyone

- ALSOHELLO??? fanfics of my fanfics? oh. PLEASE. hello. YES! i would absolutely love to see how people interpret my series and the characters within them:( that would be such a joy!!!!!! but i also just want to see how people think of thawed!lyney HAHAHHA

[smilingangel582]

BOO! Hahaha got youuu!! Anyway I'm here to request a fic of ler!furina and lee!lyney, I think she would 100% tickle the info out of him during the trial hehehe-

Ahhhhh! Whew, it's you... hehe, wow, I never tried this before... OK, I'll write one. Just need some time to study Furina's character. Hehe~ alright your heads up is enough...

Enjoy~

Oh, spoilers for Lyney's story quest and the archon quest

The law has no secrets

Fontaine is all about laws where you break a rule you get judgement. This time for Lyney, the magician, things seemed too out of nature for Lady Furina to call out the Gards to restrain him from the prison cells.

He sighed, already assuring a worried Lynette and a shocked Freminet to eat dinner without him.

At least they had the decency to give him something to eat. Still, the exaggeration is when he was afterwards chained completely. With the manacles attached to his wrists, the line of metal was rooted from the ceiling to hold him up, but he was on his knees.

Is the trial room a cell? He must be either lucky or unlucky...?

Well, Lyney wouldn't say he's not anxious to the current setting, but he'd rather have talked things through since the disappearance case is solved by the traveller.

The echoing sound of the metal door squeaked open. Lyney looked up now, hearing the jangling of his own chains. They were Furina's light tapping footsteps. Next to her is Neuvillette.

Wait?! He's on this farce too??

"Lyney, I must apologise for this rough display, but... might I have a word with you?" Furina's dainty tone purred mischievously, making Lyney shudder as he tried to avoid sounding outrageous."Why, if you wanted to talk, we could've done that by settling an appointment? This is too hurtful"

Neuvillette sounded exhausted. "Lady Furina, this is the same question I was asking you, Mr. Lyney is not guilty..."

Furina folded her arms with a smile "Oh this has nothing to do with the disappearances case. This is regarding the trivial incident of the phantom weasel..."

Dear archons, he should've know -oh, wait, she is the archon.

Lyney noticed that even Neuvillette was seeing her ways of thinking for once. Unfortunately for Lyney, though, he did strike the nail.

"You make a point, Jemma's admittance to being the troublemaker is strange since it's relevant to Mr. Lyney's magic show... even the steambird couldn't get an interview out of him"

They eyed Lyney now, suspicious looming over his instantly, well he did try his best to hide it..."

"What are you hiding Lyney?" Furina teased now, as she has finally got a lead in something since the traveler's entrance "I know the case is solved but... we need to know your part in this play"

"I must concede I was responsible for her sudden confession, but..." he bit his lip, trying to sound convincing "The trick Ceaser tried must have opened her heart, so she must have...".

"We know all that... the question is..." she leaned forward, close to his face "Why use the particular trick Ceaser use on the lady? Your not the heartless type to use that trick on her to hurt her more... but you knew it would hurt her, cuz you knew she's the weasel!"

Neuvillette leaned on his hand as he pondered "It's almost strange how you were involved with Lorenzo, the gards told us your good deed"

"W-wait... I swear, it's all just coincidence... I made a mistake remember, I thought Lorenzo was the culprit-!"

Furina laughed now, interrupting him "Aha, so cute when your trying hard to defend when you have used up all your cards, Lyney,"

She pointed our "I know you have a close relationship with Ceaser... so what's your connection to it"

He could tell, but he didn't want to show most of his past to her if all people. The traveler is one thing but the chief of justice is present too.

"Lady Furina," he sighed, suddenly a reasonable part of him was seen "I understand your suspicions but the case is solved, thanks to Mr. Lyney"

He sighed in relief, but Furina hummed. "Is it? I was about to ask who th3 copycat was before..."

He widened his eyes. Right... the notes. He should've known those could be triggering most of suspicions.

"Wait, I'm not the copycat"

She suddenly glanced triumphantly. "I didn't say you were, dear Lyney, now I see a crack in those defences... hahaha better tell us why you'd help to solve a case of ten years ago"

Neuvillette pursed his lips "Lady Furina, could it also be you want revenge on Mr. Lyney?"

She swallowed, flustered "O-of course that's... um not m-my only reason"

Lyney implored, "I swear... It's all a big councidence" he didn't even want to think of her ulterior motives but his mind knew it before he ever did thar she was still vengeful of the traveler's incident when he saved Aether.

Neuvillette rubbed his temple in irritation. "Rememeber interrogation is not to be used as a frivolous method, I'd rather not see you hurt Mr Lyney for your frivolous actions."

"Why," she sounded confident as she slipped behind him. "I'm not here to use that torture method! Please, there are more ways that can break even the most strongest opponenets"

Before anyone could question her she grabbed his sides, startling him by the new sensation "Let the trial commence"

"AhaAHhA! Wait whahat?" He suddenly jolted at the electrifying touch, and even Furina giggled."Well, I guess my intuition is right as water, Mr. Lyney would enjoy this torture"

"Lady, that's the abuse of power" the chief of Justice pointed out sharply but he had no way of stopping her.

"Alright, let's hear it. How were you involved in the phantom weasels case?" Furina snickered as she got a good reaction from his ribs, making him pull at the chains that exposed him most terrifyingly.

"Whyhyhy? Whyhyhy thihihis Lahahady Fuhuhurina???"

"Why? Well because I don't want to hurt you and the other is... I wanna see a great magician such as yourself be a bit more vulnerable"

That's why??? He was torn with exasperation and concern if he was safe in Fontaine.

"This is for pulling that trick on me with the traveler" she teased by tickling his bare armpits. He lost it there and lowered his head with sudden cackles "HOHOLD OHOHON... IHIHI WAHAHAS TRYING TOHO PROHOTEHECT THE TRAHAVELER! HEHE'S UHUHUNAWARE OF OUR RUHUHULES!!

"Protect is a very strong word, Lyney" she smirked, stopping for a moment "ok new questions what's your relationship with the traveler?"

Not that question! He'd rather expose himself than answer thar!

His silence made her circle his sides teasingly, he giggles "Cuhut ihihit out hehe's ahaha nihihice guy!

"Nice guy?" She hummed, then making his squeal by grabbing his hips "Dare you lie to you archon! That's punishment for you!"

Neuvillette wondered if he should do something. Sure he would be lying if he'd say he didn't enjoy this side of Lyney and the mischief in Furina. This is not even work related so he'd rather leave them be.

"Nohohoho don't leheheheave meheheeee!"

"Ah, you're boring," she huffed now but then ignored him completely by trying to attack the new sensitive spot on his hips. "Lyney~... I got a lot of questions, so... try to answer at least one of them..." she continued."What's your relationship with the traveller? Then how did you know it was Jemma the real phantom weasel? Then why did you hide most of the details of the phantom weasels case...?"

Unanswerable! He can't tell any of that. No matter how bad of a pickle he's in.

"Man, your no fun..." she grabbed his thighs now making him gasp "hmmm~ what's that?"

He blushed with the sudden suffocation of holding his laughter but it left him when she knew his thighs are bad, "G-guh! Wait!".

"Jackpot... so tell me?"

"AHAHAHAHA WAHAHAHAIT IHIHIHIHI IHIHIHIHI" He gotta say one thing! He should! He can't expose the secrets of his family but rather...

"IHIHIHI LOHOVE AETHER! OHOHOK JUHUHUST STAHAHAHAP IHIHIT!"

She backed off, feeling more victorious to hear him defeated "Ah~ that's your secret? I thought it was something else but that's the truth I can tell... took you a lot of guts to say all that"

He blushed now, panting "Ahare wehe done?"

She grinned brightly and snapped her fingers "Yes!" The the chains dropped in him. He sighed, feeling tired for his own good. At least he can ge those before bedtime.

Of course the guards escorted him out and even Neuvillette apologised for the sudden trial run, he did show no offence to him. Knowing he's powerless over the archon but he did doubt if he's actually guilty.

"Lyney! Are you OK?" Aether's voice, he blinked when he noticed Freminet, Lynette and Paimon with him as well. He watched the concerned look on those lovely golden eyes, he looked away with a blush "Y-yeah, I was just under suspicion"

"Did they do anything to you?" He grabbed his face now trying to scrutinze any injuries, he blushed heavily "I-I am fine... p-please let's have some tea together"

"You're blushing? Are you sick?"

Lynettw sighed. "Brother, you can't fool me, so what did they do?"

He pleaded now forcing himself into the house as they followed "Please don't make me talk about it... its embarrassing"

"For some reason, Paimon wants to know," she chuckled, and even Aether gave a smile. Sure, he did tell he was tickled at trial but editted end where he admitted his feelings. Instead, he said she got bored and left.

Nobody knew that except Lynette who knew he must've told the relationship of him and Aether...

Hope this is alright... and not too long ...I'm really sluggish today but I had the perfect idea to write and I remembered your idea beign trial so I kinda mixed things... hopes it ok

[churomo]

Did you get to play the Fontaine story quest?

If you did how do you feel about Lynette and Lyney's backstory? (Shit had me bawling for 2 hours.)

i only recently redownloaded genshin yesterday (deleted it a few days ago for storage and redownloaded it just now) … and thankfully hyv made it a little bit smaller! (the 33GB after the 4.0 preinstall was… ಠ_ಠ)

because of that i only started the fontaine arc last night, and even then i haven’t gotten that far because i’ve been so preoccupied with world exploration LMAO

i did meet furina though!!! and i absolutely ADORE her www

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Fontaine and Natlan Archon Quest Thoughts

I haven't played Genshin in over a year and I just got back into it. So, I had to speed run all the archon quests in order to feel like I can manage the insane amount of quests I have to do. Let me tell you, the Fontaine Archon quest line might just be my favorite in the entire game (my prev fave was Sumeru). But wow, Fontaine really stepped it up from the scale of the story to the characters.

The first part of the archon quest involves an incident at magician Lyney's show, leading to his trial for the disappearance of a woman. This later connected to another case in which women were disappearing from all over. I really loved how the story neatly transitioned from the small scale of Lyney's trial to the overarching case. It was honestly very intriguing and I really enjoyed the game mechanic of playing lawyer. Furthermore, the quests did a great job involving the various characters. Although Navia initially starts off as someone helping us defend Lyney, she becomes an integral part of finding out who kidnapped all those women. Her story about her father also was very heartfelt and Navia is easily one of my new favorite characters. Plus, Silver and Melus are awesome. The eventual reveal about Marcel and what he did was genuinely chilling.

Once we wrapped up the missing women case, Neuvillette has the player investigate something for him. This leads us to the Fortress of Meropide which is honestly such a cool location. The music and sound design really has stuck with me (and it finally got me off the ear worm that was Sumeru's music bc I think I spent too much time in that place; thanks Kaveh). Anyways, although we were stuck there for a while, it never felt boring. Wriothesely and the people that lived there set up a very interesting community. This is eventually culminated in the primordial sea breaking through its containment.

The third part of the archon quest involves Furina's trial as being a false archon and the fated prophecy of Fontaine. I think this archon quest excels so much is because you have that underlying prophecy connecting everything. Lyney's trial involved a women who went missing. The eventual reveal showed us that she was dissolved per the prophecy's words. In the Fortress of Meropide, the primordial sea almost kills everyone. We also learn that smaller amounts of the water can be made into a drug. Even Childe got some more lore reveal in connection to the sea. When it all comes together for Furina's trial, it hits so hard. This girl has spent hundreds of years acting as the archon and trying to protect her people, using a facade to create a sense of security. But in reality, she's not ok, the prophecy is still fated to take place, and Furina is very lost. It's heartbreaking.

In truth, Furina is the human side to Focalors. Focalors herself put her consciousness in the Oratrice. She tells Neuvillette the truth about the previous Hyrdo Archon, the revelation about the Fontainian people, and what she did in order to try and stop the prophecy. Furthermore, we learn a lot about Neuvillette and who he truly is. (Btw, this beautifully connects to his story and journey about belonging). Everything, in my opinion, is so well written and you really begin to feel for these characters. Both Neuvillette and Furina have such compelling and tragic stories which the archon quest beautifully highlights. Overall, just phenomenal.

And that's not even going into everything with Arlecchino. I wound up really, really loving her involvement in the story, the lore behind the House of the Hearth, and her boss fight in her story quest. She's a fascinating character and I look forward to seeing her again in future content. It also adds depth of Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet. They're fatui via due to the House of the Hearth, but they're not malicious like other Fatui characters the Traveler has encountered. I love all three of them very much and their sibling bond is very heartfelt.

That's not to mention all the other amazing characters like Clorinde, Sigewinne, the other Melusines, and Charlotte.

I loved this quest, can't you tell?

Natlan time. Spoilers because it's still quite recent.

We're still early in the Natlan archon quests but it didn't grab me as much as Fontaine's did. Overall, it was good and there's still more to come. I think the strengths for me came from the characters. Kachina is a very endearing kid and you genuinely want to help her out and do the Pilgrimage (at least I wanted to). Mualani is very kind and positive. I loved her right away and pulled for her even though I just got back into the game. She's awesome. Kinich is cool. I need to go back and watch his cutscenes at some point. I don't like Ajaw though. I wanna yeet that thing.

The Pilgrimage itself was pretty fun and I loved the teamwork with Kachina and Mualani. I enjoyed going around Natlan as well and seeing Mualani's home. After the Pilgrimage, Kachina is unable to be resurrected and we have to go into the Night Kingdom in order to save her. The design of the place was really cool and I like the distinction between the Night Kingdom monsters and regular ones. The souls who wander were also really spooky when they came at you. Overall, I liked the aesthetic of Natlan and its characters.

Where it kinda fell flat for me was with Mavuika and Capitano. I like her as a character and how Natlan chooses a different Pyro Archon ever couple hundred years or so. However, it feels like Capitano kinda shows up out of nowhere. I was really excited for the fight scene between them and it looked really cool. But it happens so fast that I wish we got a little more build up to it. The Abyss is the prime antagonist of Natlan and Capitano kinda just manifests. I really thought we were going to get a scene were Mavuika meets the Traveler and then Capitano arrives. Like, we barely know Mavuika because she's just sitting there for the first archon quest. I really didn't feel much when she and Capitano fought. She looked really cool, but I think we needed a bit more. Anyone else feel slightly underwhelmed?

There was so much hype in the trailer and it then it comes and goes by so quick. At least Capitano is sticking around for now. Perhaps this will all hit different once we get the rest of the Archon Quests in the Natlan storyline. I also wonder what the power levels are since Capitano, Dottore, and Columbina are supposed to have power that of a god. Mavuika I think has the same thing since she's a human who was granted divinity.

That's just me though.

I am very much looking forward to what's coming next and how Natlan will stave off the Abyss before it's entirely consumed by it. (I just realized this is very similar to Fontaine and Sumeru. All three nations are plagued by some sort of supernatural event that will destroy them, whether it's the withering, the primordial sea, or the Abyss. Hopefully, Snezhnaya will be different.

Anyways, those are my thoughts on the everything right now. I love the characters and Fontaine Archon quest went so hard.