#genshin 5.3 spoilers

[gojoidyll]

[starrytones]

capitano nation, how we feelin?

I SWEAR I DIDNT KNOW. IM HEARTHBROKEN

il capitano

(click and zoom for quality pls pls)

[rockingbytheseaside]

✦ You deserve so much more…

(Unfortunately, I am one of those who was excited in 5.0, only to absolutely hate the AQ's lack of characterization of... Everyone tbh. I won't spam unnecessary critique no one cares about, so instead I'll just keep doing what I always did. Drawing Capi.)

[oavrk]

okay. whatever this means 🙄

[blood-orange-juice]

So. Remember Dainsleif saying this about ruin guards?

We now know that Khaenri'ahns could create devices that could host the souls of the dead. I think I know how exactly they "resonated".

We've also seen Dottore making a ruinguardesque thing out of his assistant in the manga.

I think it's possible to make an educated guess about what ruin guards are.

[merry-fagoland]

this is what i get for making fun of a misha main

[hematomes]

okay now that im done with it... on a serious note, the natlan quest was very poorly handled. it had some interesting moments, but most of it was excruciatingly long and boring.

the "plot twist" of capitano's actions falls terribly flat because his backstory is literally revealed in a rushed cutscene that doesn't bring much, meaning we don't have time to actually digest it. it also makes his speech to ronova a little awkward, the pacing is just weird

ill add that it kind of... further kills mavuika for me. she's an extremely bland character with no defining feature, her entire arc is about sacrificing herself for her people and she ends up... escaping that on a flimsy excuse. it makes her seem shallow as a character, and ruins the emotional potential of quite literally any other outcome. and capitano could not harness that emotional potential because, once again, it was very rushed and did not make me feel anything. i literally felt sadder for ayo's dead grandparents??? so, yeah.

overall im disappointed, but not surprised. this might be the echo chamber of having several conversations about it but i feel like genshin is taking an odd turn for the worst, with the quality in characters decreasing rapidly. fontaine set a precedent that natlan did not reach, but i might go into more details regarding the poor characterization of natlan in another post

[prettybbychim]

there’s smth so enticing about a guy w an incomplete soul + a guy who carries far too many

[mielwriting]

Natlan Act V Meme

Act 5 spoilers below!!!

You have been warned!

In truth I wasn't planning to pull for him but I was sadder than expected at Capitano's death. He seems like such a good person. He even asked the Tsaritsa for permission to not take the gnosis after losing that one (1) duel.

All his other comrades were long dead by this point. And the harbingers themselves don't seem too attached to each other. Mavuika and Ororon were possibly the closest people he had at that point.

Mavuika and Ororon, both used to placing themselves last, probably ignore their own emotions routinely enough that they didn't fully realize their feelings for Capitano, whatever they were.

And Capitano, after all this time, wanted to die. And Mavuika and Ororon are left missing him.

Leaks make it seem like there's a small chance he'll eventually be playable. But his corpse is necessary to upgrade pyro traveler, so they couldn't remove his corpse entirely.

With the power of fanfic anything is possible. so write that down

[dangerxox]

we had one male 5* in 2024, lets see hoyo bring it down to none in 2025 now Capitano is dead!!!!!!!!! (😭😭)

[gojoidyll]

Time to pull a jjk gojo comeback on genshin.

Capitano will come back and be playable! It's not over until genshin ends!

Me rn: 🤡

[solsticelosthermind]

Okay but I love this so much actually??

[ellie-ramune]

*Natlan Archon Quest spoilers warning*

So to be honest Im not entirely sure what the fuck I just experienced or what I feel about it but it was overall cool

I understand why Capitano was killed off in such a way, it made narrative sense and his corpse sitting on the throne was badass. But I also understand why Capitano fans are so upset though I totally get it, I wish his presence had more build up in the game.

I think the Natlan archon quests are much more concise than Fontaine’s archon quests, which is a really nice improvement. I loved Fontaine but the prison acts in the middle were honestly a slog to get through, so thank god that didnt happen again.

I think these Natlan quests are setting up the idea that the love people hold for all of Teyvat and wanting not to only defeat their enemies, but to protect the people they love, will be the most important values for taking down the Heavenly Principles and Celestia. Because right now the Tsaritsa is Celestias number one hater and wants to do a coup, then impose her version of what Teyvat should look like, which is no bueno. The Tsaritsa’s lack of clarity on this is the fundamental reason why the Fatui will never fully win, and why Natlan was such an important bridge to Snezhnaya. So Im not too bothered by the power of friendship stuff they pulled for the final boss, like the theme of friendship was set up pretty clearly through the archon quest so it was expected. I thought it was cute. Though looking back, Natlan probably should’ve been placed earlier in the Travelers journey, Idk where or how that would work out just earlier. Because the vibe of Natlan just felt like it should’ve been in the middle of the game with it’s themes and tone.

Anyways I’m still excited for Snezhnaya, but also a bit concerned. I was NOT impressed by the exploration, gameplay, and character design of Natlan but thats a separate issue from the writing. What worries me about the writing is that Genshin does not handle its themes regarding social commentary all that well, like classism, systematic racism, poverty, etc. They set them up in really interesting ways, but dont know how to conclude or further explore those themes. Natlan again feels more concise because it chose to focus on Genshin’s narrative strengths, like its mains themes of fate/destiny, the future, and life. But Snezhnaya as a nation needs to also incorporate those more complex themes because the Fatui are going to become the main focus along with the main themes, so I worry for if the story will be too overstuffed with shit it needs to address before Khaenri’ah.

Idk i think it will take me awhile to formulate my final opinion on Natlan because Honkai Star Rail has been much more consistently good than Genshin content wise and Ive been playing it more than genshin, so I will get through Natlan much content slower. Rip

[blood-orange-juice]

Save us, replacement Harbinger

So. Who do you think will show up to retrieve the gnosis?

Columbina? A peaceful mind-controlling maiden seems perfect for a nation of straightforwardly punching the enemy, they have nothing to counter that. Would be one hell of an introduction too

May I also suggest Childe? He works thematically (since Liyue Fatui have been getting gnoses through means that rhyme with the nation's ideal), would also be a nice opportunity to show him having a level up and to remind us that he's only our friend in his own messed up head. Also Skirk is going to show up, so he might as well too

(I swear, I'm not saying it because I like him, he just works for that story)

Or maybe some Abyss shenanigans will happen and the Traveler will take it away for safekeeping, why not. Or whoever shows up will take it in exchange for help

[merry-fagoland]

a fateful reunion

[shikan0in-heizou]

i love him lksajflka