#i like mavuika and i would actually really like for her to live

[vellixor]

I know Mihoyo's desperately trying to put as much death flags for Mavuika as possible, but like, I don't buy it for one fucking second? She has drip marketing, she's confirmed playable, I highly fucking doubt Genshin's team has the fucking balls to kill a playable character. This is like the who the fuck knows how many time they baited us into thinking that a playable character will die. If they haven't done it before, they wouldn't do it now.

[drabblejester]

good day, mister jester :) I see youre taking request. sicne you yourself are a jester, might i ask how the archons would deal with having their own jester? (making silly jokes, harmless pranks etc) how they acquire said jester is up to you!

how the ARCHONS would treat you as their JESTER!

requested by: wonderful sillay anon!!

parings: all archons & jester!reader

content warnings: none!! just silliness

comments: take this as romantic(NOT FOR NAHIDA) or platonic idc HEEHEE!! this is a splendid ask thank u my liege <3 probably ooc

VENTI:

you’re jester’d by him after he found you on the street, while he was bumbling around drunk. thought you were funny, so he just tagged you along!!

and oooh he LOVES you!!! he writes so many songs for you to dance along to, happily singing and strumming his little lyre while you bust a move

if anything its the both of you that are the jesters… instead of you being in a ‘jester & god’ scenario, its more of a ‘jester & jester’ thing. you tell eachother jokes, sing with eachother, etc! and after yall have fun, you lay down in the grass together and snooze :3

ZHONGLI:

you’re jester’d by him after one of the millith recommend you to him, saying many good things about you and your antics!!! he meets you in person and it goes well!!

despite his strong and gentle demeanor, he will giggle and watch you happily. in fact, he actually HELPS you pull off pranks. ranging from replacing all of venti’s sugar with salt, painting on the hull of beidou’s ship, or snatching masks from fatuus, you’re having fun alongside him sometimes!!!

he treats you super well, lavishing you with yummy treats and delicious tea. he makes a little room for you somewhere in the inn, and always makes sure you’re happy and well taken care of.

RAIDEN:

you’re jester’d by her after miss sara almost puts you in jail. thankfully, your silly demeanor and joyous attitude captivated her. so you get to go free! as long as you can provide her some entertainment sometimes.

she actually doesn’t have you entertain her that often, just kinda keeps you around like a cool rock. more often, you’ll find yourself entertaining her guards and her loyal followers instead. which is still nice!

she’ll try her best to take care of you, but ultimately ends up just plopping you in the hands of the people she trusts. she isn’t too fond of your pranks but she loves your performances, so you’re equipped with props and costumes :3

NAHIDA:

you’re jester’d by her after you were grabbed by the scruff by a forest ranger, gently being ushered back into the city like a lost cat. which you might as well be! she saw you, you told her a few jokes and gave her some candy, and she got somewhat attached

she really likes your jokes!!! simple puns only, and the occasional riddle. a lot of the time, she’d actually be telling YOU riddles! sadly they’re very hard to figure out so good luck. you get to teach her about certain jokes but you have to explain the punchlines 50% of the time

life with her is very simple, she holds you as an equal (maybe even as a sibling figure?) unlike other archons like raiden or mavuika. you entertain her, and she entertains you! like a nice equal exchange of knowledge in the form of silly jokes.

FURINA:

you’re jester’d after being caught by the guardes for breaking some obscure law, probably related to a prank you pulled. you’re dragged into court (which breaks your silly heart…), furina sees you, and VERRYY dramatically calls for a halt. she runs away with you(and neuvillette on your tail).

she treats you like a secret, not in a weird way but in a.. whispers to you to go and check out the magazine selection and sends you off like her personal little scarab. it’s very obvious you two are hanging out because BOTH of you became 10x more dramatic, but she refuses everything.

your living situation is like roommates, despite her holding some power over you. neuvillette insisted that you get a separate apartment but you both complained enough to where you got to stay hanging out. you’re like best friends!! you eat sweets together, hang out, etc. she even teaches you some of her super secret acting techniques!!!

MAVUIKA:

you’re jester’d after you become hopelessly lost in natlan, miserably jingling across the floor, and winding up in a family of saurians. she finds you all sad and weeping and ue ue ue, and takes you in like a little baby birdie.

actually, you don’t do much entertaining with her! when you do, it’s usually her trying to train you to become strong. thankfully your little kicks and sad punches don’t do much to her. so to cheer you up, she lets you tell her riddles and stories and jokes. turns out she is a SUCKER for puns.

you get to hang out in natlan wherever you want, like tossing a bird in the air and letting it fly away for a bit. your best nap spot is in a very cramped little cave, all cozied up with one blanket to make the edges less sharp. surprisingly it’s very cozy! you can even curl up above on the rocks like a lizard!!!!

TSARITSA:

you’re jester’d by her after a few fatuus find you all sad and wet in the city, jingling about and being a general disturbance to the peace (as god intended). you’re dragged all the way to the palace, to get judged. you’re not put in as a harbinger but you get to be a fool one way or another!

speaking of harbingers, they either love you or hate you. the tsaritsa will always ensure your safety from the weirdness of dottore and the edginess of signora, but you can’t help but be a little upset by them. she’ll wipe your tears and allow you to dance around the palace to help you feel better :3

you get free reign over the palace whether the harbingers like it or not. curled up on lab tables, hunched under chairs, maybe stealing a fatuu grunt’s bed, etc. and they don’t get to say anything bad about you because you’re the tsaritsa’s special little jester! pierro is still upset that you stole his cool nickname though

eat up my liege… leave no crumbs either. i just swept the floor

[gold-rhine]

like its literally insane how beat for beat this lantern rite goes into the same notes as natlan final act, but just does it well. the contrast is crazy-making. SPOILERS 2025 LANTERN RITE i guess

like. oh its a story about pyro girlie who had to lose her family very early and tragically, and then she came under huge amount of dire responsibility, but she didn't let it break her and she stayed positive and bright. she is now confronted with a critical situation where she has to do hard decision and be ready to die to save her country. she says goodbyes to her friends, trying to not let them know she's going to sacrifice herself, but they realise it and do everything to save her. in the end, she realizes her life isn't over, its too early for her to go, has heartfelt reunion with ghosts of her family and is saved by unified efforts of her friends, showing how much she's loved and wanted in the world of the living. (im joking, last part didnt happen to mavuika lol, i'll get to it)

but like you can actually see how liyue kids are ACTUALLY friends and how they like each other, they have palpable chemistry that is shown, instead of just like. flatly declared in natlan. hu tao pestering embarrassed yun jin into performing her silly cringe hilichurl song in operatic style has more character than mavuika had in all acts of natlan and her story quest COMBINED. and hu tao visiting friends to give them goodbye gifts under the guise of holiday tradition with half-jokey heartfelt well wishings is what i think natlan tried to do with ancient name thing, where characters like say why they like traveler. except in lantern rite it works because its personal and meaningful, and in natlan its just flashy anime poses and random cliches. "i love being traveler's friend!", "surely she comes from a good home!" like??? its fucking nothings that coworkers awkwardly say at the birthday party because they don't know you.

and suddenly in liyue they know that characters can have differences and STILL be respectful and well-intended, with hu tao and baizhu exchanging jabs about being archenemies, instead of entire cast being blandly okay yay all the time in natlan. hu tao's conversation with zhongli exploring her mental state before going into danger, bittersweet, but finally honest, just straight up doesnt have a parallel in natlan because they never give mavuika any fucking way to express herself. not to mention that hu tao has more conflict and complicated feelings about her lost family and grief than mavuika ever has with her sister where they talk about fucking nothing and just like politely nod at each other.

and the theme of unity actually works in liyue because it does have all other characters uniting to share hu tao's burden and save her, instead of capitano ex machina just showing up and solo taking her place bc he's here to hijack the narrative and make it about khaenriah instead of natlan. so natlan's theme about unity just never goes anywhere except of characters standing in the circle and yelling "for natlan!!", there is no tangible effort for this unity, nothing they have to overcome together. they just wait for everyone to awaken their ancient names, stand in a circle to power up mavuika, and then she solo finishes everything with carpet bombing. and then she solo beats up abyss boss. and then capitano makes it all about himself. like. much unity.

and even traveler being a descender isn't really used in natlan despite making a big deal out of it, her ability to challenge fate or whatever literally never actually comes up. meanwhile in liyue it is used within established lore reasons - not being connected to irminsul, BUT, very importantly, just being special descender would not be enough to save hu tao, its the fact that they are friends, they share a bond and care about each other, i.e. only by using the plum's branch traveler is able to connect and find hu tao.

[moonsaver]

Natlan's quest is great, but so far something is always putting me off. Idk, i feel like we're missing some "wow" factor here but its most likely just me + the story's actually just barely started, so! Overall ill just give it a 3/5 for now. Always kept thinking ab how much more nicer the characters would look w melanin during the entire quests. I love iansan's look!

To be honest, mavuika's burning hair would have looked much prettier if she was dark-toned. It just kinda blew up my screen when those cutscenes came up cause it was so bright in general w her pale ass lol. It just looked like a cool effect instead of "woah that is the ARCHON" ykwim?

The battle between her and capitano was great! Although i feel the cutscene was a bit short-lived + kinda lacked buildup, which made it a bit underwhelming despite how great of a scene it was

And i personally wont be pulling for any of the characters in natlan except for maybe iansan if i really end up liking her. Maybe ill consider capitano + other dark toned characters. I might download dark skin tone mods too.

[rexonalapis]

It's legitimately so funny to see xilonen using that opportunity to scold mavuika directly using the pretense of acting, and like EVERYONE is gagged because she really went all in at THE PYRO ARCHON but then they were also like, yeah she's not acting tho. They been KNEW but it's still so surprising to witness that xilonen would ever actually publicly call her out like this. And then xilonen teases her like what did i say 👀 i blacked out 🔫👀 and mavuika ever so whimsy and silly when she's with xilonen teases back like ohhh you said that you want me to visit you more often so we can improve my uhh my bike again 🥺👉👈 she is so LOSER tbh. She saw the opportunity to turn her cool superhero cosplay idea into cool practical getup and the pretty STEM cat lady who does it also fixes motorbike, and she immediately FOLDED. Like we're talking about a very dignified, very respected leader of a nation who honors each and every individual living in natlan, to the point that she will not participate in fun events to make sure her people can fully enjoy it without the distraction of celebrity spotting, but then she ACTIVELY bothers xilonen and crashes her secret spot like a schoolboy who wants the attention from her crush. Oh my god I love their relationship so much.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Natlan Archon Quest 5.1 Thoughts and Theories

Compared to the last archon quest, this was a major step up for me in all aspects. There was a sense of grandness to it all, especially with the music and animation. Also, I'm so weak for Capitano you guys. His voice 😍🥵 alright I'll stop. But my Capitano agenda is far from over.

Spoilers below

Boy oh boy did I enjoy seeing everyone rally together to fight the Abyss. And the Abyss I felt was a pretty legitimate threat. (side note: i'm glad they didn't make us wait for the next patch to see the actual battle). The map was consumed by Abyssal power, reminding me of that one Enkanomiya event. And people died. You'd get to sites with people and everyone would be gone. It was lowkey chilling and Genshin really has stepped up in terms of how dark it wants the story to be. Chasca's sister, Chuychu, didn't make it. Their final words to each other were really heartfelt and it was sad to watch them say goodbye.

On a much lighter note, the cutscenes of Mavuika and the six heroes using their powers was soooo freaking cool, especially with the music. Side note, I'm glad they didn't shove the Traveler in as the final hero since this wasn't their fight technically. I loved seeing Mavuika use all her abilities and create that giant starburst thing in the sky to fight the Abyss. It gave me major Endgame vibes ngl. I was having a blast. This quest also made me really love Mavuika. She cares so deeply about her people and home that she'd sacrifice herself to save it all. It's a heavy price, but she's willing to pay it. Aside from Mavuika's selfless nature, she also looked epic when she fought the Abyss in the sky.

The new characters in general I really enjoyed, especially Ororon. I do like his design and I love how his voice tone changes from serious to almost childish when talking to Citlali. And his lore is really fascinating since he has an incomplete soul. Citlali gives me major Faruzan energy, but she has a beautiful design and she's pretty relatable imo with her awkwardness. I liked her a lot. Xilonen had a lot of charisma imo. Although I haven't figured out how to use her on the field during her playable segments.

And Capitano. My gosh did this man become very interesting. Not only is he Khaenri'ahn, but apparently his face is rotting from living for so long AND he knows Dain. He's a lot more tragic than I initially expected, having lost everything and everyone to the cataclysm. And out of all the Harbingers, alongside Childe (maybe Arlecchino with the HoH), he's definitely one of the more altruistic ones. His methods were extreme, but at the end of the day, he wanted to save Natlan, having lost so much already. Capitano was willing to put aside his own pride with his plan and listen to Mavuika's, helping her and the others defend their home. He even gave her all his soldiers to have for reinforcements. He's not driven by evil the way Dottore is or is vengeful to a destructive degree like Scaramouche. He's honorable and driven by the pain of his past. Vengeance too probably, but he didn't wipe Natlan clean to save it.

The lore was also fascinating. To talk to the Lord of the Night was really cool and I loved getting to know more about Teyvat as a whole. Btw, the "sky is fake" claim is finally proven true.

Overall, I was very satisfied with this Archon quest and could honestly watch a whole show on Natlan trying to fend off the Abyss. It reminds me of the Long Night but significantly better executed on almost all fronts (music still slapped).

Going forward, I definitely think we will see Mavuika die but either it won't be in the typical way or she will return in another form like Furina. Given how she's playable, Hoyo will find the loophole. But yeah, Mavuika will have to pay a heavy price. And it appears Capitano will as well. He still has his "final foe" to face and Ronova apparently sent him on his journey. Of course, the price for messing with death your own life, which Mavuika will have to pay. It seems like whatever Capitano is asking of the Lord of Night also will either lead to his own demise or some sort of demise. Either way, both characters are going to be facing a heavy price. I'm really excited to see the final face off with the Abyss and what will become of both Capitano and Mavuika.

The sky being fake caught my eye specifically because the edges of the hole and the void are reminiscent of the power used by the unknown god in the beginning of the game. Could the unknown god reside out in that void? Did she have a hand in creating Teyvat? Is Teyvat even a "real" world or is it something else entirely? So many questions. I look forward to getting answers and I love the small detail of the hole being covered by smoke. it would cause mass hysteria if one moment, you were fighting for your very home and then another bombshell about the sky being fake is thrown at you.

My only major nitpick is that the Natlan archon quest is almost beat for beat Fontaine's with some exceptions of course.

You got:

big existential, life threatening event that has been steadily building up for years and years

a Fatui harbinger who offers aid because they got their own stakes in this (said Harbinger is also Khaenri'ahn)

the archon has to die because they used powers that are kinda taboo

there are minor incidents prior to the actual existential event

said event has been known about by the archon for hundreds of years and preparations have been made

the day is saved by the archon (or dragon) flying up into the sky and using their awesome power to save everyone

supporting characters die protecting others (Silver and Melus you were the real ones)

The archon quest is still fantastic, but the overall formula was very similar. (it was also weird to not hear Kinich or Kachina but I get the reason).

Anyways, what did you guys think and are you excited for the next chapter???

[irlkisukeurahara]

More Genshin + Honkai Star Rail Sims 4 shenanigans because what else would I talk about?

- Aglaea finally got proper cc for her so here's a before and after:

- Ifa is an alcoholic and has gone to work (as a veterinarian ofc) drunk at least 3 times.

- Boothill asked Aventurine to fuck (while their son was in the room btw) and they were halfway to the location when they both suddenly got really sad and just stopped in their tracks before leaving to go cry.

- I have spent about three IRL days at least trying to fix Itto and Furina's marriage. It's Itto's fault, by the way.

- The Robin and Furina beef is even worse now. I still have zero idea where it came from!

- Ei fucking died while I was in a different household, therefore I couldn't fix it or revive her immediately.

- Misha is the one taking care of Sparkle's pet cat.

- Venti/Zhongli/Mavuika and Razor/Gaming/Freminet are now both polycules.

- Sampo adopted a dog. Granted, it's not necessarily Sampo's dog, it could be Sunday, Robin, Firefly, or Wonweek's. But I'm electing to say it's Sampo's dog because it genuinely looks like it doesn't have a brain.

- Razor and Gaming are now teen parents. Because of course, leave it to Razor to be the character that doesn't know how to use a condom.

- Arlecchino keeps autonomously adopting children. I swear we're up to like 6 now. She clearly loves expanding the Hearth. I've had to put them all in a separate household on their own.

- These faces. That's it, that's the post.

- 2/3 of Ifa's vets at his clinic are literal furries. No, not characters with animal ears, I mean actual ACTUAL furries.

- I'm convinced that Ei reincarnated as Razor and Gaming's son. IMMEDIATELY after she died the boy was born, and guess what his name was set to autonomously? RAIDEN.

- Silver Wolf might be my only teen sim that has absolutely never considered doing any drugs whatsoever, or is at least never associated with anyone who does drugs. And this is including non-hoyo characters.

- I'm not kidding. Razor is an addict and Gaming and Freminet are his boyfriends. Misha lives with Sparkle and Reca who both deal. Ame and KAngel do a lot of crack. Iruma, Alice, and Clara are all friends with Gaming and Razor. Both of AvenBootLaea's daughters (as well as their child son) know that Boothill does cocaine. And so on.

- Speaking of Boothill's problem, one time he did a line in the sink while Aventurine was just sitting there taking a shit right next to him. Aventurine did NOT give a fuck.

- I finally got Ei added back to the household, and turns out she died of LAUGHTER.

- Sampo, in the span of 24 in-game hours: Came out as a trans woman, got engaged to Sunday, died of a ketamine overdose, got brought back as a ghost, didn't notice she was dead and continued to trip balls, and then motorboated the shit out of Sunday.

- An OC in another household unrelated to HSR and Genshin died while I was away. I went to the household to get him back in the house and revived, and when I did there were three random toddlers on the front lawn AND the only woman in the house was pregnant. I don't even wanna know what happened there.

- She watches.

- Aventurine is now an OnlyFans creator.

[diz-eaze]

okay, enough talk about the greasy ass boy let's talk about someone who actually has some self worth. Why is Xilonen your favorite character and what will she be in the modern au?

Personally, I only like her for her aesthetic not really for character (I just don't know her that much) and I'm curious why you think she's pookie.

I'M UPPP !!! I AWOKEN FOR XILONENPOSTING !!!!

i wasn't really interested in xilonen when she was first revealed. i liked her aesthetic, sure, but at that time, my favorite character from natlan was kinich (and he's still one of my faves !). it was only when the archon quests dropped that she started catching my attention, and she became my all-time fave in natlan after I did her story quest !!

xilonen is incredibly caring

for all her nonchalance presented at surface, xilonen is someone who actually cares deeply. we first see this aspect of her in the archon quest, with how she was willing to sacrifice her life to forge the traveler's ancient name, which in turn would greatly increase the chance of success for natlan's war against the abyss. in her story quest, xilonen saves a young girl named 'nepecha' after having suspicions against a woman whom she's known since her youth - she even takes it a step further by taking nepecha under her wing, and she now lives with xilonen and helps out in her workshop 🥺🥺 my wife and daughter,,,,,

in her character stories, xilonen originally doesn't care much for stories and tales that were passed down by her tribe through generations, thus making the basis of the tales shaky. but because of her teacher, she grows to appreciate the ones that have factual proof and evidence. when her teacher passes of old age, xilonen stayed the entire day of her funeral :( and even traveled all six tribes to collect any stories or information relating to her teacher in order to drive away baseless rumors.

and when her tribe's dance-off stage had a malfunction, xilonen was the one to repair it <333333 she cares so much it hurts.

she's very passionate about her job !! research and all !!

her very first work as both blacksmith and name engraver was forging an ancient name from her teacher's legacy. she leaves no gaps in her work and aims to do her research thoroughly, even going hands-on should it be required of her.

and because of her expertise, outside of forging ancient names, she prefers building and making items !! she was the one who single-handedly made most, if not all, of the natlan cast's items.

knows how to relax and have fun

xilonen places great importance on the balance between work and relaxation <333 this is seen in mavuika's story quest when she tries finding xilonen even though she just wants to chill in the scenery </3. in her free time, xilonen is often found bathing underneath the sun and/or taking a nap 🥺🥺 which is why she's seen perched on a tree branch and yawning in the natlan teaser. she even DJs for her tribe on some occasions.

very pretty 😣😣

when i'm in a lethal face card competition and my opponent is xilonen: 💀💀💀

i absolutely adore her design !! i grew to love it when her 3D model came out. her colorful braid, her pretty eyes, her torn jean shorts, her ears and tail, her blonde hair,,, 10s across the board.

loves music !!

she's just like me fr,,, as previously mentioned, xilonen DJs for her tribe, and her entire kit's aesthetic is heavily centered around soundwaves <3 she's probably always playing music because she has her earbuds in 24/7

look at them on top of her fluffy ears,,,, 🥺🥺🥺 my love,,, I adore,,,,,,

as for the modern au, if we're putting her in the same verse as modern au scara with (y/n), then I like to think of her as an engineering student, or any STEM field in general. she's probably the type of girl you see always studying in the campus cafe of library, but the moment she passes her midterms and finals, she'll be out clubbing until she passes out <3 that's probably the way you meet her, too. you're new to clubbing and you see a familiar face from college so you can't help but gravitate towards her. you become club buddies after that event, and maybe even drunkenly kiss one time 😳😳😳

[moldybonessmell]

Finally formulated why for me Natlan feels superficial and uncomplete.

Characters are only said to be friends, but we don't really see them actually being friends.

And here' s why.

Disclaimer: personal opinion, I don't claim to be the only one correct, just sharing my thoughts.

I will start with giving an example of a good character chemistry. In particular with Sumeru cast. We see characters having interactions with each other first and foremost, and only then with traveler.

Tighnari and Collei as teacher-student, he explicitly takes care of her and we know they have history off-screen. Then Tighnari and Cyno being friends and even bickering on top of interactions and communication off-screen in trailers and notes. Then Alhaitham and Kaveh straight up living together and we get a lot of content about it. Dehya and Dunyarzad (even if she's not playable she appears A LOT in archon and character quests and interacts with everyone). Even Nahida and Scara feel siblings-coded. And on top of that same characters get together on and off-screen and that's how we know they are friends.

Now, I'm gonna describe how I see the situation with Natlan. The region is promoted to have a very communal society, they are all friends and have fun together. The problem is... they only interact with traveler and not each other.

We got separate tribes who only keep to themselves (unless there's actual war). I wouldn't have problem with that if we got like two charas from each tribe who are very close together.. except we didn't.

Xilonen and Kachina barely know each other. Kinich and Mavuika don't talk. Mualani is ALONE, Chaska and Ifa don't know each other, Chaska's sister IS FUCKING DEAD, Varesa and Iansan have a professional relationship, Citlali and Ororon are supposed to be relatives, but all we see is Citlali being annoyed by Ororon and even mean to him??

The only friendship we see that would pass is Mualani, Kinich and Kachina. But the problem is Kachina is a child and it feels more like babysitting. And Mualani and Kinich's problem is that he's cold to everyone and she's friendly to everyone. I don't feel any platonic chemistry going on between any natlan charas.

We got celebrations multiple times in archon quests but characters just kinda get together and keep to themselves during these. Traveler is the one on the first plan.

Genshin did such a great job building up chemistry and sense of community in Sumeru to fuck it up with Natlan in favor of fanservice to players. Why did we get a 2-hour long date with Citlali in an archon quest?? I'm confused af.

Genshin fandom was so active during Sumeru (and still wakes up when we get events there) exactly because there was a lot of game content to work with and expand on what kind of dinamics characters have. But fandom is rarely going to create dynamics out of thin air. You need to give canonical interactions to show their personalities and give a feel of characters' behaviour towards each other for that. Which Natlan fails to do in my opinion.

I really tried to get into character dynamics just to be met with barely anything. Ororon sometimes gives Ifa vegetables? Oh, okay, I guess. Iansan trains Varesa? Like doing her job..? Okay...

Are there other interactions? Oh, maybe Kinich and Mavuika talk sometimes about how things are going in their tribe and she's being his mentor? No? Oh. Or maybe Xilonen is like an older sister to Kachina and they spend time together? Also no?? Alright. Well, maybe Citlali and Ororon actually do stuff together, like gardening or her sharing her favourite books? No again??? Damn.

Why does Kinich and a dragon lord who fucking hates him have more chemistry then him and his canon friend Mualani? God, even Chaska has more family dynamic with her bird mother who doesn't talk than with human characters (besides her DEAD sister).

Fountaine did a decent job with building up chemistry between characters, so what happened in Natlan?

We all know what.

We all noticed how characters designs got even more fanservice-y and sexualised, and how _coincidently_ characters only spend time with Traveler alone now.

Genshin devs putting all their work into pleasing incels slowly kills the game.

We got incredible exploration in Natlan and interesting and creative archon quests. But it all gets outshined when all you get is disappointment about character design.

Fandom doesn't generate as much content anymore because there's barely anything to work with. And if fandom doesn't make content, fanbase has nothing to hold onto. There's only so much attention you can keep by throwing tits into someone's face. And fandom being fixated is what keeps media afloat. I thought devs cracked the code by putting a lot of queerbaiting into the game (fujoshis are the real mvps in content creation, let's be real), just for the devs to quit doing so??? I'm thoroughly confused. Genshin has a really big women audience (the ones creating fandom content btw) but devs seem to just focus on male audience?

I've seen WUWA fandom complain their fandom is dead because fanservice game focuses on male audience (haven't played it so just basing it off others' words) and it seems like genhsin also gets there.

Don't get me wrong tho, genshin has always had sexualisation fanservice, but it seemed to be balanced enough before. Apparently, not anymore.

All in all, I wish to see more wholesome character interactions in the future updates. The recent 5.6 archon quest in Mondstadt showed us more relationships between characters than the entirety of Natlan, and I hope devs team is going to keep up with it in the future and work on their mistakes.

[arundolyn]

relevant to nothing, but i wanna hear your thoughts on the natlan archon quest. am i the only person who's kinda salty with how it ended? i know they can't kill off mavuika cause they wanna make the archon playable, but it felt a little too convenient to me that capitano was just there to solve the problem. maybe i'm just coping since i wanted playable capitano. just wish the whole archon quest was written differently cause i'm so indifferent to mavuika. i still think she's cool, but there could have been more. hoping they make the second act of her character quest a banger. eh maybe it's just a me issue and i'm just burnt out from all the dense lore bombs in natlan -🍵

see. listen. its really funny. cause im a fatuihater on principle. i just Havent liked them. this made me like capitano. i was SEVERELY not vibing with him when he showed up and literally went "fuck it we're doing my plan". that was just Typical Fatui Shit to me and i was already rolling my eyes and sick of it. capitano actually gained my respect by having a genuinely interesting plot purpose and actually having principles he stuck by. i fully did not buy into him being all chivalrous and just like his lackeys talked about him being because the thing with just about every harbinger and in general fatuus so far is we're told one thing and shown a whole nother. this is probably the first time we had a genuinely altruistic harbinger, and also the first time we're shown The Bad and then Actual Good. every other time its been either Good no wait theyre Bad or Bad and then Worse. cant stand childe. dottore is just flat and lame because theres no substance to it other than He Feels Like It. arlecchino could be compelling but its severely hampered for me by her lack of self awareness. her and wrio are interesting character foils but the fact that she Genuinely believes shes better than crucabena and doing something good for Her Children is just such a HARD turn off because functionally she's in the same boat but with worse and deeper emotional abuse rather than flat out violence. i wouldnt mind as much if she like. admitted this. but she truly does seem to believe grooming kids into being soldiers is good when she does it so its like... nooooo.. nope. its So clear to me narratively she doesnt actually care for anyone in the house of the hearth on an individual level so much as theyre Her Property. her pawns. if someone gets hurt theyre messing With Her. this is just neatly dressed as the whole idea of Being Family. anyway thats not the point

^ i said that like a week before actually playing the last bit of the archon quest and like. i live in a hole so i dont really know how everyone Felt about the ending by and large but like. they won me over big time with that! not only was the scene really cool and the entire concept of no matter what happened there it was going to be cheating death was REALLY sick. that was a satisfying narrative arc 100000% and it was pretty well foreshadowed. im a sucker and told myself when i started the game like a month after it came out i was GOING to like the pyro archon and natlan no matter what bc something something native american vibes and i do genuinely love mavuika and enjoy natlan so like. im for sure biased. and it made narrative sense for her not to die yet even if she had already accepted she would. its also a satisfying end for capitano cause he actually achieved his technically impossible goal. he won against death! by dying anyway! and giving all the souls he had inside him somewhere to rest!

im also super biased bc the way capitano tried to kick the door down and say HEY we're doing things my way and didnt look like he wanted to defer to the people that Lived There that he PROFESSED TO CARE ABOUT simply did not sit right with me. heavy colonizer vibes. ESPECIALLY after the reveal that everyone would functionally lose their cultural identity if he did what he intended. and saying he cared about the people and land in question. like that simply Did Not Track. first harbinger ever to sit his white ass down and listen when mavuika told him to knock it the fuck off and honestly that was so real. they didnt fully win me over pretty much until he showed up in front of ronova and i knew Exactly what i was about to happen. they started to get me around the time he showed up at the flower feather clan but i was still suspicious. unironically him dying made me like him so much more cause it was actually. like. cohesive and sensical. some parts of natlan felt like a slog up to that point for sure but that was an Extremely good payoff for some things set up since the beginning. kinda makes up for the gosoythoth fight being pretty lackluster. i had also figured ahead of time they were gonna subvert the mavuika death bit and this kinda feels like the only way it couldve been done without being a total cop out. but tbh i get it and i doubt youre the only one since natlan has been pretty unpopular for various reasons

maybe capitano being there was some degree of contrived and convenient but idk. to me it felt pretty well thought out and when you think back on certain things even before he flat out tells you what his deal is they did foreshadow the whole being a vessel for other souls thing. interesting foil with both ororon and mavuika that way. he actually felt like a driven and consistent character when i was instantly under the impression when he showed up and started throwing punches at a god that he was just gonna be another guy here serving his own mystery agenda consequences be damned but he did kinda actually back up the fact that he cared about natlan and its people as well as his homeland and its remaining inhabitants so i do have to give props for that. like extremely. maybe its cause hes one of the only harbingers who doesnt give a fuck less abt the tsaritsa idk lmao. it was kinda sweet that mavuika conceded to him after he died as a sign of respect. cause like clearly after they werent opposed they had a lot of mutual respect for each other as leaders! refreshing to have a harbinger capable of listening to other people idk the M.O. of the fatui is really just wreck shit in a foreign land until they comply rinse and repeat kinda nice that was Fully not what he was going for. felt organic

[springspiritsummoning]

kinda obsessed with citlali... minus all the weird waifu bait bullshit with the traveller she's so incredibly tragic as a character. living so long that she'd rather have people fear her than make real connections that will be lost when they die and she lives on? thats so sad. she kinda gives me furina vibes tbh, the way she's really so alone. not to mention her actually having substance abuse problems, which, like most characters with actual drinking problems in genshin is played almost completely as a joke, but her version is way more.... extreme than say, venti or rosaria? her saying she's mastered the art of moderation hits hard to me, its a common form of lying to yourself as an addict that i'm uncomfortably familiar with. alcoholism is unfortunately often seen as a punchline addiction, and if genshin was a better game citlali's dependence on it would be explored more tactfully. is it somehing she uses to cope with the fact that she's afraid to make meaningful connections? or that she's pushed away anyone that might actually form one with her? hell, is she just BORED with life and needs something that 'takes the edge off'?

also, the way the traveller deliberately thinks about her insecurities (like having a messy house, or sleeping a lot) when they know she can hear them is kinda cruel as well? i know the traveller Can Do No Wrong but citlali is portrayed as very obviously insecure, despite the persona she projects, and i interpreted these moments as the traveller thinking these things in order to needle her. imo, especially since what the traveller says/thinks so rarely matters in the grand scheme of things, it's once again a throwaway joke, akin to something paimon might do for fun (and be admonished for). the way the traveller interacts with citlali highlights a lot of failings in their writing .

idk maybe i'm looking for better writing in the natlan story and characters, like that which was showcased in sumeru and fontaine, but seriously. mavuika is basically a cardboard cutout of a character with an extremely generic personality and motivation, hardly any complexity. other characters are flat stereotypes that border on offensive, generically "nice", or "evil" characters that aren't actually bad, just misunderstood,and they like the traveller of course.

citlali feels like she has some complexity because she actually has legitimate problems, like a quick temper and actually being quite violent?? her alcoholism, sleeping in, messy house, like girl has a case of MDD that's overlooked bc ipeople are afraid of her. the biggest flaw in her writing once again comes down to the traveller's personality center of gravity, the way she HAS to like them and think they're special and treat them different. goddamn have her beat the traveller up for thinking mean things about her or for assuming they have a "thing" bc the traveller has to charm and seduce every character they meet, especially the inaccessible ones.

idk this post turned into a general rant lol. wasnnt it meant to be abt citlali? i still think her design's mid . hair is cute though

[baeshijima]

so... i finished the new natlan aqs...

spoilers utc w/ very long rambles haha... mainly abt capitano—

first off, wow. i actually did not know what to expect going into this version's aqs, but good lord they were so well-written?? i genuinely cried and sobbed at some parts, namely ororon's realisation where he wants to live for himself and fights to retain his soul and chuychu's death with chasca grieving over her... there were so many amazing aspects in acts 3 & 4, with the fights and cutscenes being so, so well done, the lore bombs (seelies being confirmed to be /past/ angels) and the music??? ohh the osts were so good... and the theme that came up in the capitano scenes.... ourhgghg...

speaking of capitano, may i just say: wow. what a man. i genuinely love his character so much and the writers did him so much justice?? like, he has his own goals and ideals but doesn't let that get in the way of being kind and caring and upholding his honour, and isn't beneath apologising and admitting his mistakes when proven wrong...

another thing i love is his relationship with his subordinates !! like, the concern he showed for them on several occasions and the concern & admiration they have for him is just... so nice to see? idk it just feels so refreshing to see a mutually appreciative dynamic with the fatui especially ;w;; and then his progressive relationship with our main natlan cast... him saving xilonen, not once, but twice (that should've been me—), how he went from being dismissive of ororon to caring for his well-being, his growing respect for mavuika and hers for him, and how he decided to ditch his plan in the end to help be part of mavuika's one.... i am so unwell...

and not to mention that last scene with him???? like sir wdym ronova sent u and u know that mavuika has to pay a debt with her death and that u have a bone to pick with that final for which means u are more than likely to also join us both into the night kingdom for the final fight with the abyss which may or may not lead to u sacrificing urself in mavuika's stead so she doesn't have to die and—

oh lord i am not ready for the future story with him...

ALSO HE IS FROM KHAENRI'AH DURING THE CATACLYSM AND WAS A COMMANDER????

sobbing the pain in his voice when he was relaying how he lost his comrades, family and nation, fleeing to natlan with his remaining platoon once realising khaenri'ah couldn't be saved despite his attempts in hopes of escaping the carnage and giving what was left of himself and his comrades some reprieve only to face the abyss invasion again in natlan...

but oh my god when he was saying how the chief of the masters of the night-wind, ayizu, and how he didn't treat capitano any differently despite being from khaenri'ah and most ppl believing khaenri'ah and its inhabitants to be the cause of the tragedy, thus making himself duty-bound to help natlan ;w;

AND TSARITSA MENTION??? HER ALLOWING THE HARBINGERS THE FREEDOM TO DISCOVER THEIR OWN MEANING AND FOR IT TO TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER HER ORDERS IF THE TIME CALLS FOR IT??? we stan a homie !!

ALSO DAIN MENTION RAAHHHHH

"he carries a degree of pain and hatred that far surpasses my own" oh. so we're going down that route, huh. i see how it is. but also the way he also calls him "dain" ;w;; ueueue also rotting corpse/flesh... i wonder if this is in the literal sense or an abyssal rot/erosion like dain's arm? hm...

okay but now i really want to see how dain reacts to us mentioning capitano, and if he would instantly know who we are referring to since dain knows a lot despite his deteriorating memory, and maybe we might get a capitano name reveal...? also is this us being one step closer to seeing dain in an actual main story aq?? ALSO THE ABYSS SIBLING BEING KHAENRI'AHN ROYALTY CONFIRMATION RAAHHH

anyway before moving on to the heavier parts of the quest have some capitano mavuika interactions bc i love them and their old married couple-esque bickering :((

(also ororon just standing in the middle of them during their squabble like a son and going "can i say something?" 😭)

++ kinich and ajaw being... well... kinich and ajaw.

okay. haha. the war. :)

genuinely was not expecting it to be depicted so... dark? like, i know it's war and that natlan is the nation of war, but with genshin's streak of not going in depth to explicitly show death and the like (though they have been bolder in recent updates, namely fontaine), i wasn't expecting to see literal corpses of the npcs and saurians strewn on the ground after the abyss got stronger, and that whichever area we picked over another would have consequences... the devastation i felt when realising the other area i could have helped was completely wiped out... gosh...

our choices actually having consequences and changing what happens during the war + depending on how long u take to defeat the enemies also heavily impacts the death count??? LIKE WHAT

and then paimon becoming progressively distressed the longer it went on and the more found dead genuinely broke my heart like 😭

and oh god... chuychu's death... chasca momentarily losing control of the abyssal contamination due to grief only to rein it in a moment later.... and then chasca becoming recognised by the ancient name due to it and becoming the final awakened hero... ourgh....

and when walking around the stadium to talk with those who made it back and there's this one baby saurian waiting for its person and saurian friends/family to come back...

LIKE STOP THIS HYV DO U WANT ME TO END IT ALL???? WHY WOULD U INCLUDE THIS BITBKSAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

BUT OMG THE CUTSCENE WHERE ALL THE AWAKENED HEROES + MAVUIKA FORMED THE CIRCLE WITH THEIR POWERS GOING TO MAVUIKA AS SHE MAINTAINS THE SUN-LIKE POWER IN THE SKY??? ONLY TO THEN LATER DEAL THE FINAL BLOW TO THE ABYSS STRUCTURE AND PIERCE THROUGH IT AND REVEAL THE FAKE FUCKING SKY????

WHAT THE FUCK????? CONFIRMATION THE SKY IS FAKE AND THAT SCARA ALL THE WAY BACK IN 1.0/1 DURING THE STARS EVENT WAS RIGHT AND THAT POST ACT 4 U CAN STILL SEE MOON FRAGMENTS IN THE SKY????

man. got chills from the war depictions. got chills from the cutscenes. got chills from the fake sky confirmation.

also this was such a cute scene with everyone + mavuika in the distant background that i had to take a screenshot ;w;

but ourgh... the amount of sacrifices we witnessed and were too late to help prevent just really set it in stone just how devastating and powerless it can make u feel... it's only 5.1 and it's gotten this dark just how much darker are u going to take it with the abyss final showdown hyv 😭😭

also capitano feeling admiration for everyone who stood up and fought the abyss...

i am unwell i love him...

now. mavuika.

sobbing i love, love, love her so much !! she was mothering so hard as always like??? taking care of us, being the one to being the light that pulled ororon out of the darkness so he could find his way out (pls don't touch me i sobbed so hard during that entire scene where he realised he didn't want to self-sacrifice anymore but instead live for himself and for those who care for him, thus awakening as one of the heroes... holds him gently...), showing how much she cared for her people...

but it also really puts into perspective just how much she chose to sacrifice and put behind her (her loved ones and her then life) for a chance to be able to finally put an end to the war with the abyss and free natlan...

she was so radiant like the sun that she became one :')

but also...

they brought back the seeing past loved ones mindscape scene... sobs i don't wanna see what happens in the next update bc of mavuika's debt death and capitano's potential sacrifice intervention but at the same time i do 😭😭 (also she was so stunning here i had to take a screenshot aha)

BUT GENUINELY I GREW TO LOVE THE NATLAN CAST SO MUCH??? xilonen, citlali and ororon especially with them being new and i wasn't sure how much i would like them, but oh god i love how they were written and how real they felt with strengths and flaws ;w;;

but also with the drop that paimon will be staying behind while us and mavuika go to the night kingdom for the final battle, her separation anxiety is going to go through the fucking roof good lord... i also predict we will die and get resurrected at some point in our time down their bc... ain't no way are they giving us an ancient name for it to not be used for resurrection in the night kingdom...

anyway it's 4am and i spent like. 2 hours typing this up and i have so much more i could talk about but then this would be neverending so um. haha.

if u read to the end (here) then

1) thank you for reading my nonsensical rambles and cries <33

2) why would u put urself through this?

3) have four cookies for the time spent on this post 🍪🍪🍪🍪

[glaciescustodia]

Identification - Alokvuvur

Translate to - Arise (Alok) Dawn (Vu) Valor (Vur)

Alt Name - Kanyisa (name; 'giving light to the future', 'to illuminate')

Age - 1600 yrs old

Faceclaims - Various orange skinned dragon, Chalce (Pokemon Horizon)

Affiliations - Natlan, the Ancient Dragons, Children of Echoes, Natlan's Tribes, etc.

Species - Dragon

Classes - Champion level dragon, Veteran dragon mage

Profession - Smelter operator, Smith

Ancient Name - Ushujaa (trs to; valiance)

Abilities

Elemental Magic

Geological expert

Nightsoul Blessing

Smithing/Crafting (metals mostly)

Headcanons

Like all dragons & as per Mavuika's plans, Alokvuvur went into hiding, therefore stopping her smelting business and sealed off the place before waiting for the right moment the dragons would be able to come out as per intended promise to only act once war truly rages on.

Though unusual and that she still had the choice to decline something as special as an Ancient Name, to a mighty dragon no less, she accepted instead and never really became at odds with her brethrens.

Because of said profession and general expertise, among other factors, she has ties with the Children of Echoes and several Natlanian characters (namely Xilonen and Kinich, mine preferably)

However, it does not means Alokvuvur lives there, for it is far too cramped for the dragoness. Instead her smelter business and house by extension, is off the coast, with a view of the sea & the People of the Springs.

Generally, she sleeps outside while in dragon form and due to not needing human luxuries & so forth, her hut is about the same size as found in Gandharva Ville.

Despite where her business is located, she gets plenty of work going, especially with the War's aftermath.

Her Nightsoul Blessing skill is not too different from Tepetlisaurus but she certainly leaves behind bigger tunnels for traversal and sometimes; mining operations.

Alokvuvur personality is of the laidback kind but in no way does this make her any less terrifying.

To the eyes of the people of Natlan, she is, by default, venerated and feared, being a dragon and all. Still, Kanyisa is more approachable than the other way around.

As it stands, this ancient dragon may not have been around in the dragons era and less older than some others. Albeit, she is much older than Feykrokiin is.

Alokvuvur has been in the smelting business about 1200 years ago and the only time she did have to stop was a few years during the Traveler's adventures. (pretty much a good 4 years at best)

As an OOC note, i will be using her actual name and alt name during threads so please make note that this is still the same character you are talking to.

[welcometoteyvat]

finished citlali's and mavuika's quests

citlali's was pretty good, I think this writing of her is good. However I can also foresee her romance subplot with the traveler becoming the one and only facet of her personality that we see in future events, which would absolutely suck ass, so hopefully her dynamic with Ororon balances stuff out ahfksdml. anyways the romance subplot honestly didn't feel terrible for me, they pushed it a lot more than usual I feel, but because traveler talks, it made me feel more like it's actually their thoughts, not ours as the player, so less awkward lol. besides that I liked the weaving together of all the plotlines at the end, with the color/memories/explanation of why citlali's a tsundere and expansion of her personality/relationships (with both her tribe and us)... it was neat! the bad guy was such an obvious 2d cartoon villain though lol. also her quest domain was so gorgeous I have 10 million pictures

I don't have much to say about mavuika's; xbalanque makes me want a child male model for the variety, and his cn voice is kinsen so I wish we'd see him again just for VA reasons lol. appreciated seeing mavuika being teasing instead of just "wow what a responsible and cool archon!" but it felt too late idkkkkkk, it feels like her arc ended before it even started, so her change in behavior after we eliminate the abyssal threat doesn't interest me much. the cutscene animation of their fight also didn't have emotional value to me lol. it was just a duel so xbalanque could test her and they could show mavuika's super cool fighting prowess, and I kinda couldn't care less (like contrasted with the cyno vs sethos duel, that at least had stakes and emotional turning points??). oh also we stan cacucu honestly, that bird is funny af. 哥们 this 哥们 that, bro this bro that, I like him a lot. also

Still, don't you think that's what gives life its spice? No matter how much Ajaw whines, he can't leave Kinich. And Ifa can complain all he wants, but Ororon's still his friend. Oh, and me, too. Ifa often says I'm too familiar with everyone — that I instantly fly off and tell all of my Saurian friends whenever he does something dumb. But that's just how we live, man. We torment and depend on each other in turns.

cannot believe the kinich and ajaw crumbs. the quote "we torment and depend on each other in turns" is nice too, also I really want to see ifa now just based off cacucu vibe check.

[0ssianic]

almost fully caught up to the natlan AQs, lore thoughts (mostly new things from natlan & esp. on the false sky) before I play act 5

explicitly naming beings as "angels", and that seelies are the devolved form of angels. As far as i can tell this has been hinted at through loading messages for a while! ("A certain race, once all-mighty, has been cursed to degenerate into nothing but these empty husks", "...Once a mighty race that lived to guide mankind, now the most Seelie offer is a little treasure to willing followers.")

another confirmed khaenrian character with the captain

the 7 elements are all aspects of a single source, phlogiston (the "rainbow" in the title of the chapter prob refers to this as well as the 6 heroes + mavuika)

explicitly naming beings as "angels", and that seelies are the devolved form of angels. As far as i can tell this has been hinted at through loading messages for a while! ("A certain race, once all-mighty, has been cursed to degenerate into nothing but these empty husks", "...Once a mighty race that lived to guide mankind, now the most Seelie offer is a little treasure to willing followers.")

another confirmed khaenrian character with the captain

the 7 elements are all aspects of a single source, phlogiston (the "rainbow" in the title of the chapter prob refers to this as well as the 6 heroes + mavuika) (i also suspect it may have something to do with the various descenders since the archon war seems to have formalized the 7 elements, but they could have always been like that since the dragon sovereigns are associated with specific elements)

emphasis again on fate, like in Fontaine

in general, ive felt that the traveler has definitely been acting as the "witness" to whats happening across teyvat, but not in the 'go do a fetch quest/just happen to be here" kinda way

the tsaritsa allows her harbingers to prioritize their own goals before collecting the gnoses. i assumed she'd be much stricter and that thered be a lot more pressure to get them for some kind of fight against the heavenly principles

actual proof of the false sky!!

This part is by far the most interesting since the false sky was mentioned all the way back in an event in 1.1!! especially since we get to see what looks like a broken moon.

My personal theory is that teyvat is a kind of vivarium the heavenly principles made to protect humans from whatever is going on behind the false sky (though this depends on if the false sky was created before or after the arrival of the heavenly principles). It doesn't really explain why the unknown god from the very beginning would stop the traveller twins from leaving. Its been hinted at for so long, its gotta be important to what the heavenly principles wants