#because i understand Why nahida and furina don't but also i miss having new archon dynamics

[tempests-bards-and-birds]

i've been thinking about the word choice in neuvillette's voice lines about the archons, specifically how in saying that deus auri "won" the authority of geo and that the narukami "took" the authority of electro he is very much implying that they came into possession of the authorities deliberately; however, he then calls the anemo archon the "recipient" of the authority of anemo, which seems to imply less that he took it deliberately and more that it was just given to him, which does seem align with what little we know about how venti became the anemo archon (because both of the other viable candidates were. yknow. dead). what's particularly interesting about this to me, then, is that it seems to suggest that neuvillette has done at least some modicum of research into the older archons (the stuff with nahida doesn't count because he was actually conscious while it was happening), which it does make sense for him to have done. either that or i'm just reading too much into arbitrary word choices lmao

[anemoi-i]

Archons may not hand out Visions directly but it is their (indirect) influence that determines who gets a Vision, so you can't say they are not involved in some way, even if they themself do not know it. In a way, even if an Archon hasn't met every single person who has a Vision based off of their element, there is still some connection between them and they know this person exists. I hope that makes sense.

One of the best examples is unironically Anemo. We're no strangers to the jokes about Anemo characters but there is truth in those jokes. We know the focal point of someone gaining an Anemo Vision is freedom of some kind, whether it be freedom from a physical place (Faruzan) or freedom in general (Wanderer). I'd also argue that it could be freedom from emotional turmoil & pain (Kazuha and Heizou due to the death of their friends, and Sucrose due to her losing her two best friends during childhood, Xiao for very obvious reasons; also remember that there are more characters such as Wanderer that fall under this category as well).

When you have an Archon like Barbatos who's memory of his friend still shines brightly in his mind & who he misses, this becomes the determiner Celestia makes for granting someone an Anemo Vision, is how I'd wager it happens.

You have Dendro, which is given to the ones that seek knowledge and/or are wisest in their chosen field (Alhaitham, Kaveh, Baizhu, etc) and we know how much Nahida wants to learn and is still learning. It should be noted that those Dendro Vision Holders don't seek knowledge in a way that is detrimental to others (Perhaps Baizhu does not 100% fall under this because of course, he seeks immortality and uses his knowledge on medicine which is detrimental to his own health...)

Hydro, given to the ones who seek justice in their own way, even justice for themselves. (Xingqiu, for example, falls under the most "noble" concept of justice due to his chivalry, while Childe, surprisingly, falls under the more aggressive kind of justice, moreso for himself & his circumstances, proven by the recent Fontaine Archon Quest). Candace, the guardian of Aaru Village upholds justice for the "final refuge of King Deshret's descendants" to which she is of one of them.

We have already seen that Furina does truly value justice but she can be quite chaotic about it as well. She falls under both noble and chaotic forms of justice. (I'll come back to a better detailed analysis after the Fontaine Archon Quest series is fully complete.)

Electro, actually is the best example next to Anemo as to how & why Archons can indirectly influence who gets a Vision. Due to the Vision Hunt Decree, there weren't any new Electro Visions granted during that time, proving her influence. In regards to who gets granted an Electro Vision themself, I've noticed there seems to be a connection between someone who has an Electro Vision & preventing some sort of disastrous event. Of course, this can't be said for every Electro character but in particular: Beidou defeats Haishan after battle for four days after previously challenging the beast to no avail. Kujou Sara gains her Vision after attempting to face monsters in the mountain where she lived before getting her name, narrowly avoiding death.

On another note, Electro Visions seem to be given out to those with a hint of stubbornness? Keep in mind, this is not an insult. Keqing, for example, tried to destroy hers several times due to her being a skeptic before she finally accepted it was a part of her forever. Fischl's stubbornness was born of the belief she truly believes she is the Prinzessin der Verurteilung, and that was made fact with her Vision and the appearance of Oz.

This ties into many things about Ei. For starters she was stubborn herself with the Vision Hunt Decree and it took the efforts of Traveler and Yae Miko to help her understand everything that was wrong with it. She mourns the loss of Makoto, fears what happened during the Cataclysm and the Heavenly Principles itself and while this part is just speculation, it could be a "what if I could stop this calamity? What if I could have stopped this from happening?" situation.

Geo and Dendro share similar traits in that those who have a Geo Vision are knowledgeable and wise, but also maintain order (for lack of better wording and you already know where I'm going with this) in regards to their field. Yun Jin is a playwright and a Director and an excellent opera singer. She maintains the traditional structure of opera but chooses to be open to new concepts, something the elders chastised her for (ie, going to Xinyan's concerts). Gorou, the general for the Watatsumi army learns to invest time and effort in helping those around him improve which helps open the doors to gaining his Vision. He is also very humble in this regard.

There is a reason why Ningguang is the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing and wielder of a Geo Vision. She is wisest and all things business and commerce related, most likely second next to Rex Lapis himself. Albedo searches for what his master told him in a letter before she went away "show me the truth and meaning of this world" and he uses his Alchemy to do so. What sparks joy within him is turning the unknown to the known. Not even the appearance of his Vision is what really fascinated him.

And of course we know how Zhongli is, knowledgable of all things, retaining Liyue's history that he has helped maintain for eons. He is quite mysterious in his own way choosing to keep certain things secret but one thing remains above all is that his wisdom and desire to maintain order are two of the things that come with a Geo Vision, as is maintaining a contract of some sort.

I'd love to talk about Pyro and Cryo in the future. Feel free to agree/disagree or add characters who I missed, I could only remember so many characters' lore at once.