she/they 20 something, Currently writing a much too long Genshin Harbinger found family fic (now au) with no end in sight. I draw stuff too, mostly for said fic.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Teyvat has its own laws, but in another world there is a thing known as gravity. Every bit of matter is attracted towards each other. The larger the mass, the greater the pull. If such a concept existed in the same way in Teyvat, the academics of their cursed group would use such a metaphor to describe Dainsleif.
Dainsleif was the Sun of the Sinner's planets. His gravity pulling them into his orbit to spin around him endlessly until they all burned. But considering the state of Teyvat and its place in the grand universe, they tragically were not capable of conceptualizing such a bit of rhetorical language. Not matter how apt. Instead, they must suffer under the simpler understanding that they were doomed to be trapped by their love for him. No pretty metaphor could save them from themselves (and as much as Dainsleif wished it so, neither could he).
Aka, the Tragedy of the Five Sinners of Khaenri'ah and Dainsleif, told, as one might expect, in five parts.
I finally make a cover art for the Sinner's fic! This has been in my wips for a while, I'm free haha. Also, chapter 2 has been posted! Rerir time! Surt gets a break, its Rerir angst time.
Snezhnaya trailer Analysis time (with some theories) My Tsaritsa child theories are still being worked on, but here's my analysis of the assassination plot that people have probably already discussed, but I had fun with it so hey haha (and who knows maybe people haven't)
First off, while we know from previous region trailers the events for the most part don't literally happen as shown, they do generally jibe with the vibes of the story/character set forth.
So this dude:
The man who starts the chain reaction of the councilors(?) rejecting Project Stuzha. He is the same man as earlier in the trailer:
This guy who was threatened by Odette at knife point and was going to be sniped by Alyosha (who works with Vodyanitsa). His bodyguard(?) is Valeriy, who we know from the recent event is a Major in the Fatui.
So the general plot line of this, is that Vody and Alyosha are planning to assassinate him for some reason, but the Fatui (via Valeriy) want him protected and alive. Odette however manages to sneak in and threaten him with a knife, presumably threatening him into objecting to Project Stuzha (hence why our Harbingers are quite surprised at the objection).
Vody mentions a Lelek, who considering the framing of the above shot, and the fact that Lelek is a bird, is probably referencing Odette. Whether Lelek is like her codename or something else, I'm not sure at this moment.
I am curious how Odette and Vody connect. Because they both are seemingly against the Fatui, and are both performers (opera singer and ballerina)? I wonder if they are less different factions, and instead are the same group but slightly different modus operandi. Odette keeping the man alive but threatening him to vote against Project Stuzha, while Vody thinks it's better to just kill him (how killing him would help, idk, though it might just be in the trailer for drama and not something that literally happened this way). But they could very easily be rival factions, though if they are, I am curious how their goals differ.
Or maybe it's a red herring, and Alyosha was sent to snipe Odette when she showed up, and Valeriy who was sent to guard him by the Fatui rightfully misunderstood his intentions to allow us a cool trailer wolf bear fight. So she and Alyosha are on the Fatui's side. I'm not sure how I feel on this one, because of Vody's whole speech which implies she probably isn't on the Tsaritsa's side, but wanted to bring it up.
Though Vody is interesting, because even if we ignore that one possibly sus leak I won't mention, she is part of the Korolevskiy Troupe. Which we know from Columbina and couple other places seems to be quite pro-fatui? Like they have their fancy free Harbinger box the Harbs take advantage of all the time (off-topic, but I need more fan art of the famed Sandy complaining about Dottolone at the theater that remembers that Columbina and Siggy and probably all the Harbs but Arle were also there. Give me more Harb Found Family Theater adventures).
So I wonder if the free Harbinger stuff is just a cover to hide the Tropes anti-Fatui secrets, or if Vody is doing this separate from the Trope. Easily could go either way. Odette and her ballerina almost points the trope's involvement, but also Alyosha seemingly is unrelated to the Trope based on his design so who knows.
Is Danica and her mission related to any of this? I have no idea haha. The dude she shoves over is white haired too, but he is wearing different clothes so is probably a different man (and we only see the shoes of the other people in the room, so nothing to go off there. and the room itself doesn't have anything interesting in it).
But the reason I spent some time going over this, even if these exact events probably won't happen in game, is that it is implying pretty heavily that there is internal division in Snezhnaya on what needs to be done. Not everyone is happy with the Fatui, and we will hopefully be seeing some playable characters in conflict with each other in some meaningful ways (I had a great time with Nod-Krai, but one of my big critiques is how they hyped up the faction tensions and then basically nothing came of it. I really hope they rectify that here).
Based on Vody's speech, she's not remotely pro-gods/Heavenly Principles, but isn't really pro-Fatui/Tsaritsa either. As she herself says,
"We find a way to transcend the rules"
Valeriy, unless there is some twist, is representing the Fatui in this little specific conflict, so by process of elimination, I wonder if Odette will represent the people who wish to remain under the reign of the Heavenly Principles. I think that would inspire the most interesting conflict, but there is nothing that hints at Odette's motivations so far so we shall see (even her being a swan lake reference really doesn't give us anything. I mean, the story ends with Odette and her lover ascending into heaven? But until the game gives us more I wouldn't read into that just yet).
My main question going into Snezhnaya is where we (the traveler) will fit into this. In the long term I feel fairly safe in saying we will end up siding with the Fatui (tbh I think most if not all of the Snezhnayan playable characters will as well, but u never know). Despite what people might claim about the Fatui being set up as the big bads, ever since 1.1 with Childe's lore/Zhongli's contract with the Tsaritsa (honestly bits even in 1.0 lol, the cataclysm was never a good look), it's been fairly obvious we would team up with the fatui against the Heavenly Principles.
But the question will be if we side with other factions first, or will we just immediately start allying with the Fatui. With how we act around the Fatui these last several regions, it could really go either way haha. Also I didn't bring it up, but there is still very much the possibility of inter-Harbinger drama too
But I don't think this will really happen. The person people might point to is Pantalone, but no. Just no lol. Like I could be wrong but so much of his lore and goals line up with the Tsaritsa. So I cannot see him causing any true issues. Pulcinella at this point is the Harb we know the least about (ignoring missing 10, though at this point they might be Rhine lol. I kind of hope she is because that would be so funny). But while people theorize he is holding Childe's family as hostage, that's Scara's biased opinion lol. He infamously doesn't understand his ex-coworkers at all. Arle also complains about him, but not in a way that implies he'll betray the Harbs. At this point he would just be too obvious a twist villain? Its more interesting if he's a morally ambiguous ally. And he's decently likely to be playable due to being in the Dain trailer, so likely to be reasonable. So yeah, while Harbinger drama is likely, I don't think there will be any major betrayals/conflict between them. More likely to just have external conflicts they have to deal with.
That Harbinger sidebar went longer than expected lol. You know me, Harbinger girlie haha.
But yeah, I think the early Snezhnaya Archon quests will be more inter-Snezhnaya conflict, which will eventually shift into conflict with Ronova/HP and probably another Sinner will show up like Rerir did. Hrop is probably Pierro's old boss, so I feel fairly safe he will finally show up. I can also see Surt showing up properly out of flashback because of his Childe connection. Rhine is confirmed to be here, but she is probably on our side. Or at least the Tsaritsa's, considering you can see the Life Shade power around the Tsaritsa's spear in the trailer. I controversially think Rhine isn't actually evil like a lot of people do, so I think she will stay our ally, but maybe she will betray us (I hope not, but who knows. I just really hope when Dain inevitably shows up they get more scenes together).
Back to the Vodyanitsa/Alyosha/Odette/Valeriy conflict I really do hope this trailer is showing a microcosm of the larger conflict at play in Snezhnaya, and Genshin will really dive into it. All sides have valid points, even if ultimately we need to overthrow the Heavenly Principles.
avem you knew not to trust the trailer... why did you delude yourself lol
Hoyo what do you mean Odette is part of the Fatui??? Was she not threatening him to vote against Project Stuzha??? Or was he nervous because he was ignoring her threat? (and maybe Vody was trying to kill him for the same reason, that he was always planning on voting against Project Stuzha) Or was I wrong and there is a traitor among the Harbingers.... But none of them were acting like they foresaw his objection...
blah, we shall see haha. I am way more curious about her now (we shall see if I like her enough to pull in this ultra stacked cast lol. My funds are quite good so I have some wiggle room, but I do like being careful)
Okay so I could wax poetic about how the whole thing is a Sandrone and Columbina love story, and the lovely Alain lore etc, etc. But if you follow me you know my favorite scene haha.
Yeah it's the Harbinger tea party. Harbinger found family my beloved.
What killed me though, is that I saw the tea party coming. But after the flashback with Alain, and whole thing being about Sandy dealing with her grief, I was like "Oh we are getting Signora!"
So yeah I was absolutely jumpscared by Childe 😂In hindsight, should have seen him coming. But yeah when that ginger boy popped up on my screen I did in fact make an unholy sound.
But despite my love of Childe, and joy at seeing living Cap and Siggy, that image above I was immediately drawn to one thing.
There is an extra fucking seat.
I didn't get a screenshot with everyone including Columbina sitting down, but yeah there is just blatantly an extra seat with food at it that there is "no one" sitting at.
... Please Hoyo, I desperately need Scaramouche to be remembered. I need a cutscene where he is placed back in the timeline and everyone's memories return. I need to see Scara bitching at the Harbinger tea party he pretended he didn't want to attend. Please.
So I did Sandrone's quest first of course, and it was very good. So insanely gay good lord. Thank you Hoyo for Sandbina I was feasting. I probably have more to say later but I do need to go to bed (tomorrow after work/friday my day off will be moon adventures).
However I did also do one of the Sandrone tea party things, and of course I chose Childe first who do you take me for haha. And was immediately hit by the biggest Ajax lore drop that we have been waiting since 1.1 to get clarified.
AJAX HAS MORE THAN ONE OLDER SISTER, I KNEW IT YEAHHHHHHHH!!!!!! HE IS AT LEAST ONE OF 8!!!
Okay, so in my fic, I restrained myself to 1 older sister (so 7 kids total), for my sanity. He had at least 6 siblings, I stopped myself from adding onto that haha (and I liked him being perfectly middle child). But in his lore, it mentions that his "sisters" plural were out in the woods looking for him when he was lost. While technically it could have been one older sister and Tonia, it always felt wrong for his family to let probably under 10-year-old Tonia out in the woods when they were missing their 14-year-old son in said woods haha. So I always thought it was way more likely he had more than 1 older sister. And I've been proven right. Also people weren't sure if his "3rd son" line referred to being the 3rd kid, only giving him 1 older brother and 1 older sister, so we are free of that as well.
Hoyo, playable Ajax sibling pleeeaassseeee! Grown up a bit Teucer would be funny, but I vote Tonia and/or one of his older sisters. I would adore any of them, I would forgive all crimes for several of them. Hoyo please.
Well thank you Sandrone for coming home at 9 pity non-guaranteed lol. I'd like to believe it was the power of my Harbinger team (Bina/Childe/Arle/Scara).
Snezhnaya trailer Analysis time (with some theories) My Tsaritsa child theories are still being worked on, but here's my analysis of the assassination plot that people have probably already discussed, but I had fun with it so hey haha (and who knows maybe people haven't)
First off, while we know from previous region trailers the events for the most part don't literally happen as shown, they do generally jibe with the vibes of the story/character set forth.
So this dude:
The man who starts the chain reaction of the councilors(?) rejecting Project Stuzha. He is the same man as earlier in the trailer:
This guy who was threatened by Odette at knife point and was going to be sniped by Alyosha (who works with Vodyanitsa). His bodyguard(?) is Valeriy, who we know from the recent event is a Major in the Fatui.
So the general plot line of this, is that Vody and Alyosha are planning to assassinate him for some reason, but the Fatui (via Valeriy) want him protected and alive. Odette however manages to sneak in and threaten him with a knife, presumably threatening him into objecting to Project Stuzha (hence why our Harbingers are quite surprised at the objection).
Vody mentions a Lelek, who considering the framing of the above shot, and the fact that Lelek is a bird, is probably referencing Odette. Whether Lelek is like her codename or something else, I'm not sure at this moment.
I am curious how Odette and Vody connect. Because they both are seemingly against the Fatui, and are both performers (opera singer and ballerina)? I wonder if they are less different factions, and instead are the same group but slightly different modus operandi. Odette keeping the man alive but threatening him to vote against Project Stuzha, while Vody thinks it's better to just kill him (how killing him would help, idk, though it might just be in the trailer for drama and not something that literally happened this way). But they could very easily be rival factions, though if they are, I am curious how their goals differ.
Or maybe it's a red herring, and Alyosha was sent to snipe Odette when she showed up, and Valeriy who was sent to guard him by the Fatui rightfully misunderstood his intentions to allow us a cool trailer wolf bear fight. So she and Alyosha are on the Fatui's side. I'm not sure how I feel on this one, because of Vody's whole speech which implies she probably isn't on the Tsaritsa's side, but wanted to bring it up.
Though Vody is interesting, because even if we ignore that one possibly sus leak I won't mention, she is part of the Korolevskiy Troupe. Which we know from Columbina and couple other places seems to be quite pro-fatui? Like they have their fancy free Harbinger box the Harbs take advantage of all the time (off-topic, but I need more fan art of the famed Sandy complaining about Dottolone at the theater that remembers that Columbina and Siggy and probably all the Harbs but Arle were also there. Give me more Harb Found Family Theater adventures).
So I wonder if the free Harbinger stuff is just a cover to hide the Tropes anti-Fatui secrets, or if Vody is doing this separate from the Trope. Easily could go either way. Odette and her ballerina almost points the trope's involvement, but also Alyosha seemingly is unrelated to the Trope based on his design so who knows.
Is Danica and her mission related to any of this? I have no idea haha. The dude she shoves over is white haired too, but he is wearing different clothes so is probably a different man (and we only see the shoes of the other people in the room, so nothing to go off there. and the room itself doesn't have anything interesting in it).
But the reason I spent some time going over this, even if these exact events probably won't happen in game, is that it is implying pretty heavily that there is internal division in Snezhnaya on what needs to be done. Not everyone is happy with the Fatui, and we will hopefully be seeing some playable characters in conflict with each other in some meaningful ways (I had a great time with Nod-Krai, but one of my big critiques is how they hyped up the faction tensions and then basically nothing came of it. I really hope they rectify that here).
Based on Vody's speech, she's not remotely pro-gods/Heavenly Principles, but isn't really pro-Fatui/Tsaritsa either. As she herself says,
"We find a way to transcend the rules"
Valeriy, unless there is some twist, is representing the Fatui in this little specific conflict, so by process of elimination, I wonder if Odette will represent the people who wish to remain under the reign of the Heavenly Principles. I think that would inspire the most interesting conflict, but there is nothing that hints at Odette's motivations so far so we shall see (even her being a swan lake reference really doesn't give us anything. I mean, the story ends with Odette and her lover ascending into heaven? But until the game gives us more I wouldn't read into that just yet).
My main question going into Snezhnaya is where we (the traveler) will fit into this. In the long term I feel fairly safe in saying we will end up siding with the Fatui (tbh I think most if not all of the Snezhnayan playable characters will as well, but u never know). Despite what people might claim about the Fatui being set up as the big bads, ever since 1.1 with Childe's lore/Zhongli's contract with the Tsaritsa (honestly bits even in 1.0 lol, the cataclysm was never a good look), it's been fairly obvious we would team up with the fatui against the Heavenly Principles.
But the question will be if we side with other factions first, or will we just immediately start allying with the Fatui. With how we act around the Fatui these last several regions, it could really go either way haha. Also I didn't bring it up, but there is still very much the possibility of inter-Harbinger drama too
But I don't think this will really happen. The person people might point to is Pantalone, but no. Just no lol. Like I could be wrong but so much of his lore and goals line up with the Tsaritsa. So I cannot see him causing any true issues. Pulcinella at this point is the Harb we know the least about (ignoring missing 10, though at this point they might be Rhine lol. I kind of hope she is because that would be so funny). But while people theorize he is holding Childe's family as hostage, that's Scara's biased opinion lol. He infamously doesn't understand his ex-coworkers at all. Arle also complains about him, but not in a way that implies he'll betray the Harbs. At this point he would just be too obvious a twist villain? Its more interesting if he's a morally ambiguous ally. And he's decently likely to be playable due to being in the Dain trailer, so likely to be reasonable. So yeah, while Harbinger drama is likely, I don't think there will be any major betrayals/conflict between them. More likely to just have external conflicts they have to deal with.
That Harbinger sidebar went longer than expected lol. You know me, Harbinger girlie haha.
But yeah, I think the early Snezhnaya Archon quests will be more inter-Snezhnaya conflict, which will eventually shift into conflict with Ronova/HP and probably another Sinner will show up like Rerir did. Hrop is probably Pierro's old boss, so I feel fairly safe he will finally show up. I can also see Surt showing up properly out of flashback because of his Childe connection. Rhine is confirmed to be here, but she is probably on our side. Or at least the Tsaritsa's, considering you can see the Life Shade power around the Tsaritsa's spear in the trailer. I controversially think Rhine isn't actually evil like a lot of people do, so I think she will stay our ally, but maybe she will betray us (I hope not, but who knows. I just really hope when Dain inevitably shows up they get more scenes together).
Back to the Vodyanitsa/Alyosha/Odette/Valeriy conflict I really do hope this trailer is showing a microcosm of the larger conflict at play in Snezhnaya, and Genshin will really dive into it. All sides have valid points, even if ultimately we need to overthrow the Heavenly Principles.
Writing update! I have actually about 8k of smfwtwd done just needing editing from my sister. Part of it is a pretty extensive Skirkback, so my plan right now is to break that into 2 chapters and save the 2nd chapter for the fic anniversary. I could honestly save all of it for then, but yall have waited long enough haha. But the present day stuff works very well as an anniversary chapter (with no real spoilers, a lot of the Harbs show up, including Sandy keeping up him being in all the anniversaries haha). But then to make up for the wait, the chapter after that should either be done or almost done by the anniversary, so there won't be a long wait.
Also, I have finished typing Rerir chapter of the Sinners fic! Needs editing, will probably come out between Skirkback and anniversary chapters of the main fic. I am fascinated how people will react to it, cause I do something weird with it (I could 100% tell u what it is now, it's a not a spoiler, but I'm going to leave yall hanging pfft). But it's my fic I can do what I want haha.
Welp, Snezhnaya trailer came out tonight lol. Its fine, I needed a break from dying constantly to the Deltarune chapter 5 secret boss lol.
My screaming below
Tsaritsa design, looking good, yeah! Obviously we don't have a full look yet, but I'm happy with what I see.
(I'll come back to the child later lol, I screamed when I saw that haha)
Also, the moment I saw that spear I went "Holy shit" because:
This is the Ajax (original) lore spear....
Okay I was going to wait, but I can't put off child.
Rip og Ajax (presumably). I am an enjoyer of my theory that she was Ajax's kid, but I am not complaining about this.
WHOOOOOOO ARE YOOOOOOUUUUU
I was prepared for a lot of things, but the Tsaritsa having a presumed dead child was not one of them lol. And maybe Khaenri'ahn??????? Like the pupils scream khaenri'ahn but the white instead of black isnt right... It is not helped that the flower is also vaguely Inteyvat (wrong number of petals but yellow center, blue petals etc).
Also:
Oh their hair is so so similar. I've drawn Childe's hair so much I know all the vague shapes and immediately recognized it lol (the tsaritsa kid even has the cowlick).
So I wonder if she's using the gnosis to bring back her kid, not her lover... (or both I guess lol). Or maybe he isn't dead and is just in status or something...
God, I am so shocked by this I have little to say, probably will have more thoughts later haha.
On the topic of khaenri'ahns though, where is Pierro in this trailer... everyone else is here. An odd non-inclusion.
Harbingers! Shockingly little of them in this trailer? I guess it makes some sense, they need no introduction.
One thing I find interesting, that I noticed in the Sandrone animation, is that they have changed Pulcinella's eyes since Lazzo:
He has like a diamondy pupil, in lazzo it was just round. I've seen theories that he's the cryo dragon, which I'm not remotely sold on but I do find intriguing. Not sure if it means anything or just them adding some eye diversity, but fun thing to point out.
Childe and the rest look as lovely as ever, I love them and am very excited for them in Snezhnaya, but this trailer didn't give us anything new for them haha.
The Fatui being beholden to a council is wild to me. Like it makes some sense, and it's been vaguely mentioned before, but still. Democracy(?) in my Snezhnaya haha.
hydro gnosis finally revealed is fun. Where is my horse piece though genshin, where.
RONOVA! Her being like the antagonist(?) of this arc is fascinating. I am so excited for the shades finally getting some proper play in game.
RHINEDOTTIR MY LOVE!!!! You cannot comprehend how excited I am for her. I've been a Rhine/Gold defender since 1.0 lol, I really hope we finally get to see her side of the story. Like not that I think she is secretly a saint, but there are a ton of hints that things are more complicated than it seems about her. And she is just neat to me (also people get so angry about her, when they don't about way worse Dottore (I wonder why...) so I will happily over defend her to balance the scales haha).
New people! Okay, so I'm a person that needs to see them as characters before I get attached, but I do generally like what I see so far.
Vodyanitsa is very Robin HSR, which in hindsight I should not be shocked about lol (my HSR, and Honkai in general, knowledge is very... spotty lol. I've looked into somethings, I was in the HSR beta, but I don't have the time for another gacha and it didn't really grab me but I digress).
She sounded neat from what we have heard of her before this, but her being involved in an assassination (?) plot does make me way more intrigued by her.
It is endlessly funny to me that I called dogboys in Snezhnaya lol. My fic's Sandrone continues to be the character that casually holds most of my correct theories (adventurers guild Sandrone... Harbinger tea parties... they are even called Volkodlak! Looking at u Hiyoko and Nika Volkov pfft.)
Also people are going to be so horny about this bear man...
Swan lake lady very pretty. I am curious who is fatui (or allied with) and who isn't... I assume due to Harbinger theater box that Vody is Fatui side, but how she was talking makes me question that? Though she might just be being dramatic lol.
Maid assassin doesn't call to me (Im not a maid person), but she does vaguely have some Katheryneisms, so curious if they are connected (I hope so).
Oh nooooooo. My weakness, long haired red head men haha. I forget if I've mentioned this before, but Silver of Pokemon fame had me in a chokehold as a child that I never quite escaped. I saw Diluc for the first time and also went "oh no he is my type" pfft.
Also his neck markings remind me of Albedo, and weirdly Asmoday? Don't know what any of that means.
I dont know who this is, but he looks really cute. My brain went Kliener! But then I looked in the description and his name is Mitya lol. Dimitri...
I noticed this in the other trailer, but why are their roots in the sky...
But, yeah, I think that is all? It's very late I need to go to bed lol.
Everyone losing their minds about the lack of Snezhnaya trailer is so funny to me, because I have the opposite issue. I have had the busiest most draining week (nothing bad just busy and my social battery is very small) and I'm still trying to finish the new Deltrarune chapter, so I'm like "actually can u wait a few days for that, I need to be emotionally prepared" lol
Happy Father's Day (and Pride) the Alberich Clan. Yes, Kaeya's Dad's parents (aka kaeya's paternal grandparents) are tft. I've spent waaaaay too much time thinking of them because I'm that sort of person.
I can't speak too much on them because certain stuff might actually become relevant down the line lol, but Eithne (the Raven as Skirk calls her) was a knight that was hired by the Alberich Clan to collect their lone wayward heir Cormac that had run off to Teyvat to fuck around. He has absolutely no interest to returning to Khaenri'ah and shenanigans ensue. Why Skirk later says Eithne half blew up and was forced to retire... well I'm keeping that close to my chest for the moment haha.
GRANDPA IS HERE!!! YOU BETTER BE PLAYABLE GODDAMMIT
Also bonus random Avem discord messages about this man. As you can tell from the time stamps these are incredibly out of order and different convos, but positioned like this it tells the complete story pfft.
Happy Pride Rhine and Loge! (Dain is unseen but haunting this narrative as the bisexual disaster he is)
Trans girl Rhinedottir my beloved. I will freely admit it was initially born out of Gold being referred to with he/him pronouns in the beta, later they/them pre-Rhine reveal, and then of course Rhine has she/her (same justification for gender-fluid dendro archons haha). But I also find Rhine's messy relationship with motherhood super fascinating through a trans lens. Also, her being a scapegoat by Celestia... her creation alchemy... etc etc... I just find Rhine real neat. The main fic is fundamentally about Ajax though haha, so I probably won't get to properly sink my teeth into it, but one day in a spin-off... (edit: avem is dumb the Sinner's fic chapter about Rhine is in major part about that. though a bit different Rhine from this fic).
The Sandrone animation was designed to appeal to me personally I see haha. I was prepared for way more Fontaine, instead it was 90% Harbingers. Which you know me is exactly what I want (I would have loved Fontaine stuff too... but Harbs). Tea party 😭Also Siggy it's been so long I forgot what u sounded like lol.
My nitpick critique is I wish we saw Scara, their similar backstories and the hints we get at their pre-erasure relationship fascinate me. But that's a personal nitpick I will admit haha. May Scara be remembered and interact with his ex-coworkers.
But the greatest twist of all, what do you mean Alain named her Sandrone 😭 What?????!!! Did the Tsaritsa hire her because she was already on theme? How did that convo go??? Is she the origin of the Commedia theme??? I have so many questions.
(Also rip my plans for Sandrone to be free of her "The Inventor" title in my fic anytime soon. Between her and Columbina I need to figure out what I'm calling them because for obvious reasons it can't be Sandrone and Columbina... I'm fine.)
Edit: Well rip the english dub, Alain calling her Sandrone was a mistake haha. While the implications of that were incredibly funny, thank god this makes way more sense (and hopefully real Sandrone name coming).
Lohen quest thoughts! Spoilers beyond the cut, but I do a sort of non-spoilery review first.
Very good quest! Not my favorite, but its very enjoyable and did exactly what I wanted with his character. Learned about his past/gave him character development, some fun Mondstadt lore is always appreciated, etc. Had a very fun time with it. The first combat section was also just... so fun (if u know u know haha). Honestly I want more of that.
Spoilers below, mostly character quest, though a bit of his weapon description and one thing from his stories (I read them as they unlock for me, so I've actually not read them all, but my friend who has read them told me one thing. Or more accurately what isn't there lol).
They did a very good balance of still having him be crazy, but also ground him a bit. His battle obsession being a ptsd trauma response, a desperate grab for control, is sooooo good 10/10. Shout out to his english va, he was killing it with both the crazy stuff, but also the emotional bits were his facade breaks. Good shit.
I'd been thinking this even before the quest, but the quest cements it, but Lohen really works for me as character because while he is a battle maniac, even before the quest he has a ... code is the wrong word but close enough. He's not going around trying to murder random people. He defends his fellow knights, protects a cat that one time, and while people are afraid of him, people equally respect him? Varka trusts him enough to lead a company. While he would probably never acknowledge those connections, they all really make him feel like he belongs in this world/in Mondstadt/the knights. I remember when I first learned about him, I was like "why his this man allowed in charge of things in the knights." and well, I still sort of think that haha, but in all seriousness they have done a good job of justifying him.
I jokingly said to my friend that Lohen is like one of those hyperactive terribly bred dogs that people get because they are pretty but don't know how to take care of so they tear apart the furniture. But the knights treat him right! They give him a job and proper walkies, and he's domesticated (mostly) haha.
The moment where Lohen asks permission from Varka to attack... ahhhhh he's grown my booooyyyyyy. Him accepting he's not to fight the big boss... so good (though while appreciate it from an artistic lohen character story perspective, I would have liked to fight Ursa myself. Get to see Diluc finally avenge his father (also rip crepus "mere merchant" you would have hated that). but I recognize this is lohen's quest and thematically was better.)
I could go on about Lohen's character, he's real neat, but uh, criticism time. And don't worry, this is me being overly dramatic for comedic effect but also Hoyo wtf.
HOYO, THE TIMELINE HOYO!!! What have you doooonnnneeeee.
Diluc was the pillar in which the timeline stood, the anchor, wtf are you doing messing with his timeline.
Okay, but in all seriousness, I recognize that the webtoon is dubiously canon and that 14-year-old Calvary captain Diluc was from that, and even literal 18th birthday was from that too. But a) 14-year-old captain Diluc is funny (especially with his dad, somehow not allowed to be a knight despite everyone else allowed to join), and b) yes, I could maybe accept aging up the calvary cap thing, but, hoyo, you make a mess of the timeline in this very quest. Adorno says that Crepus dies right after Diluc came of age! So 18! And he has to be captain before that.
But then Lohen, he also needs to be an adult, because while he doesn't like drinking, no one has an issue with him drinking? And just generally no one treats him like a child (young yes, but not that young). So Genshin, what do you mean he's beating Diluc's record to captain 😭
The only way I can kind of make sense to it, is that he's the fastest to make captain after joining? But he was on the expedition for five years (which also makes it basically impossible for him to be a child now, he didn't look that young pre-expedition trailer)... Was Diluc like 5 when he became a knight 😭 Or Istaroth messed with time and 5 years and no years happened at the same time pfft (the reason none of the kids have aged).
Genshin... just give us a timeline please. Make this make sense. In my head Lohen is currently like 20, he was 15/16 when the expedition started. Maybe Diluc has been officially dashed from the records and thats why Lohen could be the youngest... I have no idea pfft.
On to my other not a complaint, but just... bafflement. What do you mean Lohen isn't confirmed (or even denied) to be an Imunlaukr??? It's not in the quest, and my friend has told me that his stories don't bring it up at all... I just... what?
It just feels super odd, to finally bring up the Imunlaukr's in Dornman, which is where Lohen can show up, he also suits the vibes of battle obsessed, his weapon description is all about them (that was one of the leaks I did read)! But then it doesn't come up haha, what?
Like don't get me wrong, there are plenty of characters that their weapons aren't super tied to them personally. And they could just be doing a narrative parallel? Like he like the Imunlaukr's is a powerful battle maniac with a million mental health issues, but unlike them, he can grow and learn to be happy living with everyone in Mondstadt. But beyond his weapon (and even then that is a bit dubious), the game doesn't make the parallel (the Imunlaukrs are never said out loud! I still have no idea how I'm butchering the pronunciation).
Like I said, not a real complaint, I recognize this is a case of my expectations, but just... weird writing choice. My guess is that they are saving the Imunlaukr's for later, because as the weapon description explains the og was horrifyingly powerful, and we still don't know where he is from (his name is norse... so Khaenri'ah or pre-khaenri'ahn I guess is very possible. Also Lohen's name might also be Finnish? though thats more nebulous). And it would make sense if Lohen is secretly an Imunlaukr, that he (and even his parents) wouldn't even know. But that doesn't mean I'm not a bit baffled. It could have been quite cool to parallel him with his theoretical ancestor, Lohen succeeding where so many of his family failed. Genshin, Imunlaukr lore pls. I have been waiting so long...
But yeah, it does kind of work out that I posted my Venti fic where I offhandedly mention Lohen as an Imunlaukr pfft. I debated waiting until Lohen release to see if he's confirmed or not. But now its just Schrödinger's Imunlaukr. Though my not so crack theory about Eroch!Father is dead in the water (like Dottore Klee dad it was too powerful for the world). Though I guess kidnapping a kid to be experimented on and saying some off the cuff stuff is its own kind of fatherhood /j.
If you are curious, yeah Eroch is Lohen's dad in my fic pfft. I'm too attached. Instead of kidnapping, Lohen gets the trauma of dad betrayal suicide lol. Lohen is going to show up all of twice in my fic, so I can do what I want with him in the background of my own brain. I am tempted to draw my deranged Mondstadt character chart. It rivals my Khaenri'ah chart.
But yeah, coming full circle, despite lack of Imunlaukrs and timeline madness, I really enjoyed this quest and especially love Lohen. Even if he took me to basically hard pity like an ass. Though look at this wild final pull:
Kaveh what are u doing here (c1 at last pfft), also Mika went from c0 to c6, which makes sense I do ship him and Lohen haha.
A Stronghold Against a World that Devours Hope Chapter 29
Zhongli and Venti make me crazy 😭I looovvveee them!
Feat Lady Zhongli because obviously (happy pride lol, I have a wip actually planned for that, this was an accident. Coincidently also gender stuff, but not Zhongli haha).
Diluc's (and Crepus... and Eroch and Lohen and way too many other people lol) many a great grandma! I made a bunch of Mondstadt residents throughout the years for my Venti fic, but she might be my favorite. Shocked I haven't drawn her before. RIP Zora, you would have loved seeing your ship become canon (She lived a very long and happy life, she died of old age, but I'm still sad she is dead lol).
Over a thousand years later, Crepus, also a painter, studying the surviving art of his ancestor and eyeing all the art of Barbatos and a strange white haired woman kind of baffled. Maybe Diluc will get to finally understand.
A Stronghold Against a World that Devours Hope aka Venti Fic art and major spoilers below the cut! Up to chapter 32.
Local Area Khaenri'ah family in which nothing will go wrong... nooooooo... pfft. Yeah it's endlessly funny to me that my main fic is a pretending to be a Chili fic but is a Harbinger fic but is secretly a Khaenri'ah fic. And the Venti fic is also in fact secretly a Khaenri'ah fic lol. There is no escaping Khaenri'ah.
The sequel family photo... will it ever be we shall see. I debated not including Enjou to make it mysterious and sad with his absence, but this ended up being very silly/sketchy, and it was funnier to still include him haha.
Blood tw... its very non-graphic but just in case. Its Paimon's "death"
Doomed father daughter and uncle and niece... Ved being the dad is literally my favorite choice, I'm so happy I couldn't figure out Ista's father haha. I still can't believe he ended up actually being associated with Istaroth. Also on Dain, important to remember his memories are fading. He doesn't realize why she sounds so familiar.
