#mf gonna connect everything to said char (I am mf)

[radaedan]

What if I go further in my insanity and tell you that narratively speaking, Xiuhcoatl & Xbalanque being the symbolic twins of Natlan the same way like Venti & the Nameless Bard, Raiden Ei & Raiden Makoto, Nahida & Rukkhadevata, and Furina & Focalors is appealing, actually. Does it make sense? Unfortunately, I don't have enough energy to make a full-blown theory post (and believe me, I have a lot to say), so this is purely a fanficky post😭 forgive me. Someday, I'll make a full theory post, but please listen to my insane rambling for now.

Natlan is the nation of war, of glory and battle, of dragons. Yet as of 5.4, it lacks one aspect of Archonhood that's present in other nations, as I've mentioned above; twins.

I've seen people complain that the symbolic twins are "overused" and they're glad that Natlan doesn't have one. Unfortunately, they're dumb as fuck😁/j. No, but seriously, have they ever heard of tropes, themes, and parallels? The archons' twins exist for a reason. Narratively speaking, they're meant to expound the archons' ideals:

Venti's ideal is freedom, yet he's still shackled in the form of the Nameless Bard.

Raiden Ei's ideal of eternity locked down her nation and made her unable to process her trauma healthily, by doing that, she betrayed the ideal of her sister, transience, that finds beauty in the mortality of things. All happiness will not last, but so does the pain and misery.

Nahida's ideal is wisdom. Yet she was born in a child form, someone that we consider childish and immature. Yet her predecessor, Rukkhadevata, despite having an adult form and the same ideal as her, created the Akasha system, which made the Akademiya overrelied on it and worshipped knowledge over wisdom so much, that when Rukkhadevata died and was replaced by Nahida, they don't know how to cope and rejected Nahida. Letting your people cling to you so much like an immature child is unwise, in a long run.

Oh Furina and Focalors, you two. What is justice if it means the suffering of an innocent person? What is justice if it means that the sins of an entire nation are shouldered by one person alone? What is justice if the sinners are guilty of the same sin committed by the punisher? Grahh... Fontaine, you're so peak...

And I haven't mentioned the contrast in their physical appearance too:

Ei wore darker kimono and wielded naginata. Her hair is fully braided, as if she's always ready for battles. Makoto wore lighter and flowing kimono. She was always seen with an umbrella. Her braid was looser than her sister as if to show she was more relaxed and calm.

Nahida's form is a child. Rukkhadevata's an adult. 'Nuf said.

Furina is more masculine presenting, and in her ousia form, she has short hair. Focalors was more feminine presenting, and she had long hair.

(For Venti and the Nameless Bard... ehe, can you guys help me find it?😅🙏)

Can you see it? They're meant to show duality. The Traveler and their twin also meant to embody this. We ought to see the parallels between the Traveler and the Archons.

And now we have Natlan, that have no apparent symbolic twins... or is it?

We already have a theme of duality in this nation: the dragons and humans coexisting. Cooperating, even. A nation constantly wrecked by war, yet between the races that used to subjugate each other (Xiuhcoatl's tyranny and Och-Kan's. Heh, what does it feel like to be the same kind of ruler like the corrupted dragon Sovereign, Och-Kan?), they find peace and cooperation. They work together to fend the Abyss and protect their homeland. War and peace.

Wouldn't it be apt that in the nation of dragons, the symbolic twins are both dragon and human?

Also, in Popol Vuh, the hero twins myth where Xbalanque got his name from, he had a twin, Hunahpu. Hunahpu became the sun while Xbalanque became the moon. But Genshin actually has a tradition to reverse mythology figures' position. For example, Surtalogi, one of the five sinners of Khaenri'ah, is actually the name of a sword wielded by Surtr, who will bring forth the fire that engulf the earth. It's not far-fetched to think the reversal of the sun and moon is deliberate. By the way, you know who's being related to the moon and at the same time is contrasted with Xbalanque?

"...Sharer of light, heat, and wisdom, the dragon king awaits the coming visitor in silence beneath returning moonlight. His reawakening is not simply for..."

- Natlan: Fiery Dragon.

And here's Xbalanque’s:

"...Bathed by a hidden sun, Xbalanque's forces advance with unstoppable momentum. He brings all-out war to the world once more, but his goals don't stop there..."

- Natlan: Divine Army

Don't you seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee the parallel???????????

Back to the myth again, the hero twins had the theme of resurrection too.

Embarrassed by their defeat, the Xibalbans still sought to destroy the twins. They had a great oven constructed and once again summoned the boys, intending to trick them into the oven and to their deaths. The twins realized that the Lords intended this ruse to be the end of them, yet, despite this, allowed themselves to be burned to death in the oven and the ashes of their bones ground into dust. The Xibalbans were elated at the apparent demise of the twins and cast their ashes into a river. This was, however, a part of the plan devised by the boys, for, once in the river, the ashes regenerated into bodies - at first those of a pair of catfish, which transformed in turn into those of a pair of young boys... ...Unrecognized, the boys were allowed to remain among the Xibalbans... They performed a number of miracles, setting fire to homes and then bringing them back whole from the ashes, sacrificing one another and rising from the dead.

- Wikipedia, Maya Hero Twins.

Hmmm??? Burned to death??? Sacrificing each other and then rising from the dead???

Then the pièce de résistance for my theory from this myth:

When the Lords of Xibalba heard the tale, they summoned the pair to their court to entertain them, demanding to see such miracles for themselves. The boys answered the summons and volunteered to entertain the Lords at no cost. Their identities remained secret for the moment, claiming to be orphans and vagabonds, and the Lords were none the wiser.

In a climactic performance, Xbalanque cut Hunahpu apart and offered him as a sacrifice, only to have the older brother rise once again from the dead.

And also before that, in a ball game that resulted in the Xibalba's embarrassing defeat:

The Lords of Xibalba were dismayed at the twins' success until the twins were placed in Bat House. Though they hid inside their blowguns from the deadly bats, Hunahpu peeked out to see if daylight had come and was decapitated by a killer bat. Xbalanque summoned the beasts of the field and asked them to bring him their food. The coatimundi brought a squash, which Xbalanque placed on Hunahpu's body. Xbalanque then asked the rabbit to distract the Xibalbans when the ball landed outside the court. The new game began, and Hunahpu's head was used as the ball. When Hunahpu's head went off the court, however, the Xibalbans mistook the bouncing of the rabbit for the ball and chased after it. Xbalanque then retrieved his brother's head and replaced the ball with the squash. The game continued until the squash burst, resulting in an embarrassing defeat for the Xibalbans.

(Btw, the bat that decapitated Hunahpu was Camazotz, the bat-spirit who serviced the Xibalba. It seems it's the inspiration for Ororon's bat motif.) It seems that while both of the twins were dead and resurrected, Hunahpu's deaths are the most prominent ones. You know someone whose death and defeat are disputed?

A Somewhat Strange "Person": After the Pyro Dragon's [Xiuhcoatl] faked death, all that the descendants of the ancients knew was to kowtow before the throne, watching our civilization deteriorate by the day, marching inexorably towards decline.

"But Radaedan, Xiuhcoatl's faked death happened before Xbalanque defeated him!" Yeah, but Hunahpu didn't die and ressurected only once, did he?

Regarding the head, I think it can be a metaphor for Xiuhcoatl's Pyro Authority. Xbalanque used his Pyro Authority(head) in an endless game against the Abyss. Also, while it wasn't quite a head, Xiuhcoatl used his eyes as:

So hear me out; just like the myth, Xbalanque killed Xiuhcoatl, used his Authority to become the Pyro Archon, and passed it down throughout his descendants, tricking the world that the Flame Tyrant is dead for once and for all.

But it's all part of the twins' ruse.

Btw, I want to remind you the nature of the ball game itself. The Mesoamerican ballgame had important ritual aspects, and major formal ballgames were held as ritual events. Late in the history of the game, some cultures occasionally seem to have combined competitions with religious human sacrifice.

Natlan’s teaser probably referenced it!

The thing is, in the majority of the ritualized games, the losers were the ones sacrificed, there were also instances where it was the winners who were sacrificed.

...The more likely scenario is that ritual sacrifice was only performed after certain games specified for that rite. The most common scenario was the final play in the war ceremony—that after a city won a battle, rather than simply killing the vanquished leaders, they equipped them with sports gear and “played” the ball game against the conquered soldiers. The winners of the war also won the ball game, after which the losers were then sacrificed, either by decapitation or removal of the heart.

...Another different theory is that it was not the losers of the ball game, but the winners who were sacrificed—the winners who were sacrificed—that teams volunteered to play in the ceremony and that if you won, you would be sacrificed to the gods. The incentive was the great honor that was placed upon the individual and their families—typically leading to advancement in society. The losers, on the other hand, were demoted to a life or impoverished slavery.

-National Geographic: "Death Ball" by Andrew Evans.

You know, this reminds me of Dainsleif’s words about Natlan in the Travail trailer:

The rules of war are woven in the womb: the victors shall burn bright, while the losers must turn to ash.

So, who's going to be sacrificed in Natlan’s ball game? The winner or the loser?

If Xbalanque and Xiuhcoatl are twins, it doesn't matter who won or who lost; they can fill both positions. They already are; Xbalanque was the hero beloved by all, while Xiuhcoatl was the villain accursed by history. Xbalanque was the victor that burn bright, while Xiuhcoatl was the loser that turned into ash. Whether the game demands the winner or the loser, they still will win either way.

Maybe it's also why in the description of our ancient name, Xbalanque is said:

Fathom the words of Xbalanque, perceive his thousand-year-old lie. The utmost wisdom births the utmost paranoia, and as he held time and death in his hands, he doomed Natlan to an endgame without any solution.

Btw, I have a theory that Natlan's 5 acts are merely a trap for the Traveler to lose their "Descender" status. That's why the teaser is like that; they're inviting us to play their game. Initially, as an outsider, we can't join the Pilgrimage of the Sacred Flame. But now, with our ancient name, our existence is recorded in Natlan.

This is a trap.

Natlan isn't over. It's a part of a long, long, long game.

Played by these two.

Okay I gotta be honest I made this theory fanfiction bcs I'M CRAZY. PLEASE, SOMEONE, ANYONE, GIVE ME XIUHCOATL CONTENT. I MISS MY KING. I PRAY FOR THE GLORIOUS RETURN OF MY MIGHTY SOVEREIGN. OH LORD, I BELIEVE IN YOUR RETURN-