#focalors is so damn right she is the perfect human

[nomaejie]

Before 4.2 was released, I thought about Furina's words of encouragement to Neuvillette about exploring the human world. There must be an ulterior motive. But when 4.2 came out I knew that Furina knew absolutely nothing about Focalors' plans, she cared about Neuvillette with all sincerity. How could Neuvillette not love such a pure person oh damn Hands on my head.

[thesoftestmess]

Thinking about focalors saying furina's humanity is what made her perfect, but sending her on a 500 years long quest where she had to divorce herself from her humanness every single day anew.

Furina having to keep up a show of distance to humanity and having to put herself above her fellow humans, while encouraging Neuvillette, who has never been human, to mingle with them and learn to understand them.

Focalors inviting Neuvillette into the palais and knowing damn well something as strong as Furina's love and care for humans will inevitably rub off on him and there's nothing he could do about it.

Focalors loving and admiring humanity so much that she trusted herself, her human form, enough that not even a mighty ancient dragon could exist for centuries next to Furina's deeply kind and compassionate heart and be immune to it.

It wasn't only time that made Neuvillette unable to declare fontainians guilty after everything. It undoubtedly was also his Lady Furina meeting personally with her citizens, throwing big social banquets on her birthdays and visiting the sick and elderly in their homes.

Caring about the young and the old, remembering their names and bloodlines and their countless life stories.

There's something so special about the theme of humanness between Furina and Neuvillette and how it binds them together not just by fate, but by heart.

There's something special about him spending 500 years by the side of a human unknowingly, and it inevitably turning him into their ally, while Furina has no idea she's making it happen.

Loving humans comes naturally to her and this part of her could never be drowned out, not even by a painfully lonely and straining act of authority and godship.

There's something so heartbroken in Neuvillette's voice when he learns about her sacrifice and really, how could he ever declare humanity guilty for their mere existence when Furina was by his side sacrificing everything and then some for them for four centuries, regardless of how they treated or talked about her?

How could he ever leave her and her people to a doomed fate?

And a part of Furina telling him to get out and mingle with humans feels like she was saying "I know you don't like me much as an archon, but you would've loved me as a human" and she's right.

The moment she drops the act and moves out and goes on her very own healing journey, he falls hard.

Once the heavy presence of fate between them evaporates, he sees her clearly for the first time ever and what he sees is the very best of humanity. One of humanity's kindest and strongest and most determined.

So fragile and exhausted and half-ill from mental torment. Someone who certainly deserves the praises offered to a god, but who wears her human skin so much better.

Wears her heart on her sleeve, just like all her insecurities and flaws.

There's no act, no big secret, no impending doom hanging over their heads now, but she's further from Neuvillette's side than she's ever been and it makes him yearn for her in a way he doesn't know is utterly human.

And she's lying awake with the very same feeling.

[rapifessor]

Well I've completed the Archon Quest in Fontaine and... I have thoughts.

Navia. I love her, she’s literally perfect. Gorgeous character design, great backstory, it's impossible not to like her. She's so well-written and she's one of the most human characters in Genshin Impact.

I can understand why Clorivia is such a popular ship right now. For once it's a ship I can get behind, too, but it's also slightly weird and fucked up because Clorinde killed Navia's father. They're good friends though so it's not much of a stretch.

Overall story was very good with lots of great twists, however it's also WAY too fucking long. These quests do not respect your time. The Fortress of Meropide was not fun; it's a big, confusing area and most of what happens there isn’t relevant.

Fontaine pretty much not having an Archon anymore isn't something I expected. Neuvillette has taken the role but he's actually the Hydro Dragon, and Furina was never really the Archon to begin with, only a stand-in for Focalors.

This Archon Quest was really emotional, god damn. Not just Navia, but the shit Furina had to endure: literal centuries of loneliness and desperately fighting against an inescapable prophecy. Sumeru's Archon Quest was fantastic but Fontaine might just beat it for me, despite its unnecessary length.