He has given gifts to the other inmates for Christmas using the donations people sent his commissary account.
He appears to have attempted to communicate through flashing his cell lights to show his supporters outside that he could hear them cheering for him (this exact light flashing is what inmates at the previous prison did to communicate to the news that they were in support of Luigi, so he may have learned it from them and taken this form of light communication with him to MDC.)
It is rumored he is paying for the other inmates' healthcare using donations to his commissary account.
Inmates who shared time with him at the Penn prison say he 'gave them a voice' when they 'had never had one before' (in reference to the collective shouting 'Free Luigi' the inmates did.
He is writing back to supporters and is alleged to have informed one supporter that he is warm, taken care of, and will be okay. He does not want people to stay up at night worrying about him.
Mavuika is in a really unfortunate position where ultimately my issue with her is just that her character falls a little flat—in a way that really isn’t a unique or uncommon issue for Genshin characters, and doesn’t frustrate me much personally, but definitely ends up drawing a lot more ire from fans bc to how noticeable this is due to her specific place & role in the story
I don’t think Mavuika’s writing would stand out nearly as much if Natlan’s overall AQ didn’t also just, generally feel rather lackluster for a lot of people (myself included). But honestly i think these two things unfortunately kind of go hand in hand—how well executed the Archon is as a character has a lot of sway over the overall cohesion of the region in my eyes. Their individual character/arc is usually very intertwined with the overall themes/narrative of a region, which is something both the main AQ storyline & other characters of the region are going to be building off of as a result
Like regardless how individually invested people are in say, Nahida and/or Furina as characters/archons, I think they both fill their roles in their respective narratives pretty well, and their regions are stronger in a lot of areas for it. People wouldn’t like the Fontaine AQ nearly as much if people hadn’t been able to become emotionally invested in Furina as a character, and honestly I’d go as far to say a lot of the most popular characters in Sumeru & Fontaine would be a lot worse off from the region’s Archons being fumbled, because generally what makes a lot of Genshin characters interesting is how they interact with the themes of their region that, again, the Archon serves as a cornerstone for establishing. Haikaveh’s massive popularity as a ship, for example, isn’t random: a lot of people like it because the way the characters relate to the conversation of wisdom in Sumeru makes them engaging characters
The reception Natlan’s AQ & cast gets feels really lukewarm in comparison, and again I think that makes sense when it feels they didn't commit to one of the characters a lot of things are depending on as groundwork to build off
And I think…what really gets me about them fumbling Mavuika in particular is just how much she conceptually feels a character that would be well within Genshin’s capabilities to write. Like… I feel Mavuika & Ei’s writing, for instance, share the similar issue of Genshin not committing to their characters the way they need, but while Ei suffers from a lot of wishywashiness or backtracking on the role her character serves in Causing Conflict, the commitment Mavuika lacks is more solidly in a commitment in execution than who she is character wise.
Because I think we actually do have a good idea of what kind of character Mavuika is intended to be & what role she’s supposed to serve in the story, and it’s something I’d theoretically like & consider a welcome addition to the Archon lineup.
I like that she’s a normal human voluntarily assuming the role of an Archon, and I’m not even inherently opposed to her just being a very competent leader who’s good at her job. If we are going to have any Archon who “feels” more like what people would “expect an Archon to be” in terms of commanding authority/respect as a leader, I definitely think it suits the narrative best if it’s a human archon like Mavuika bc an intentional element of a lot of nonhuman Archon characters is that they’re /not/ supposed to “feel” like what you’d expect gods to be.
While I think her being good at her job works conceptually, in execution it’s definitely to her character’s detriment, because you can tell pretty quickly they are…not doing it in a way that leaves very much room for her to be a character you can really connect to emotionally.
Any attempt the AQ makes at giving Mavuika personal flaws/struggles/conflict ends up feeling really forced or pointless, because there’s no room in her characterization for things to meaningfully impact her as a person or invoke a response in you as the viewer other than “wow, Mavuika is so cool and well adjusted”
I know how Genshin writes characters, and I could tell pretty early on what they wanted to go for was that Mavuika is someone who is good at her job to the point of self destruction, someone who’s selflessness & sense of duty is admirable until it becomes sad/concerning with how much its prioritized over her own needs and wants as a person.
This character archetype of denying your own humanity and fixating self sacrifice, especially out of a sense of duty and/or poor self worth, is incredibly on brand for Genshin to write & something we know they’re capable of writing well and with variety.
Like, similarly to Furina, Mavuika is sacrificing/suppressing a lot of her humanity out of her sense of duty as an Archon. The fact she very voluntarily signed up for forfeiting her relationships with her family & neglecting her wants as a person because she’s so set on saving Natlan would be really compelling, but is constantly undercut by the fact it ultimately has little impact on…anything.
Mavuika’s grief for her lost family never makes her falter or struggle in places it would matter—other characters comment she doesn't focus on her own wants/needs, but this never seems to have any genuine emotional or physical consequences on Mavuika as a person or anyone around her. She just, um…tells you she figured out how to cope with her grief a while ago, or that she will maybe try to paint for fun to unwind between her responsibilities, etc.
It feels like even more of a missed opportunity when you consider how well elaborating on things like that would’ve aligned with Natlan’s “no one fights alone” mantra. If Mavuika is actively suffering from the consequences of shouldering so much burden alone out of a sense of duty i think it would’ve worked really well to have the rest of the Natlan cast challenge that, especially when they are so widely good natured and enthusiastic about being cooperative to an almost comedic degree
A lot of what they try to show of Mavuika’s emotions feels crammed into the last act of the AQ, and by then it’s really too late to have good pay off because there’s no room for build up. I wish they’d had something more along the lines of…Yelan getting into a tense argument with Xiao trying to self sacrifice in Perious Trail, or Nahida being so set on sacrificing herself for Sumeru’s sake in her 2nd SQ she’s seen torn up about & struggling to accept the outcome of someone sacrificing themselves in her place instead in the aftermath. Have her arc be struggling to internalize “no one fights alone” applies to her too, or something.
At the very least I wish there was more fanfare or resistance over her not being the one to sacrifice herself in the end omg. She just gets talked down a bit by Citlali & Traveler & then just kinda stands there like “oh…ok :(“ when Capitano shows up with a power point presentation about why this should be His self sacrifice moment now HAHDBXJHXND
Anyways. TLDR Mavuika feels like she was supposed to be a very specific flavor of self sacrificial Genshin character with problems but for some reason Genshin just didn’t do this, which was definitely to the overwhelming detriment of the emotional stakes for Natlan’s Archon Quest but really funny conceptually because it’s like here she is, the one you’ve all been waiting for: one (1) Genshin archon who’s main deal is being an abnormal level of emotionally well adjusted compared to everyone else. Enjoy!
Mavuika is in a really unfortunate position where ultimately my issue with her is just that her character falls a little flat—in a way that really isn’t a unique or uncommon issue for Genshin characters, and doesn’t frustrate me much personally, but definitely ends up drawing a lot more ire from fans bc to how noticeable this is due to her specific place & role in the story
I don’t think Mavuika’s writing would stand out nearly as much if Natlan’s overall AQ didn’t also just, generally feel rather lackluster for a lot of people (myself included). But honestly i think these two things unfortunately kind of go hand in hand—how well executed the Archon is as a character has a lot of sway over the overall cohesion of the region in my eyes. Their individual character/arc is usually very intertwined with the overall themes/narrative of a region, which is something both the main AQ storyline & other characters of the region are going to be building off of as a result
Like regardless how individually invested people are in say, Nahida and/or Furina as characters/archons, I think they both fill their roles in their respective narratives pretty well, and their regions are stronger in a lot of areas for it. People wouldn’t like the Fontaine AQ nearly as much if people hadn’t been able to become emotionally invested in Furina as a character, and honestly I’d go as far to say a lot of the most popular characters in Sumeru & Fontaine would be a lot worse off from the region’s Archons being fumbled, because generally what makes a lot of Genshin characters interesting is how they interact with the themes of their region that, again, the Archon serves as a cornerstone for establishing. Haikaveh’s massive popularity as a ship, for example, isn’t random: a lot of people like it because the way the characters relate to the conversation of wisdom in Sumeru makes them engaging characters
The reception Natlan’s AQ & cast gets feels really lukewarm in comparison, and again I think that makes sense when it feels they didn't commit to one of the characters a lot of things are depending on as groundwork to build off
And I think…what really gets me about them fumbling Mavuika in particular is just how much she conceptually feels a character that would be well within Genshin’s capabilities to write. Like… I feel Mavuika & Ei’s writing, for instance, share the similar issue of Genshin not committing to their characters the way they need, but while Ei suffers from a lot of wishywashiness or backtracking on the role her character serves in Causing Conflict, the commitment Mavuika lacks is more solidly in a commitment in execution than who she is character wise.
Because I think we actually do have a good idea of what kind of character Mavuika is intended to be & what role she’s supposed to serve in the story, and it’s something I’d theoretically like & consider a welcome addition to the Archon lineup.
I like that she’s a normal human voluntarily assuming the role of an Archon, and I’m not even inherently opposed to her just being a very competent leader who’s good at her job. If we are going to have any Archon who “feels” more like what people would “expect an Archon to be” in terms of commanding authority/respect as a leader, I definitely think it suits the narrative best if it’s a human archon like Mavuika bc an intentional element of a lot of nonhuman Archon characters is that they’re /not/ supposed to “feel” like what you’d expect gods to be.
While I think her being good at her job works conceptually, in execution it’s definitely to her character’s detriment, because you can tell pretty quickly they are…not doing it in a way that leaves very much room for her to be a character you can really connect to emotionally.
Any attempt the AQ makes at giving Mavuika personal flaws/struggles/conflict ends up feeling really forced or pointless, because there’s no room in her characterization for things to meaningfully impact her as a person or invoke a response in you as the viewer other than “wow, Mavuika is so cool and well adjusted”
I know how Genshin writes characters, and I could tell pretty early on what they wanted to go for was that Mavuika is someone who is good at her job to the point of self destruction, someone who’s selflessness & sense of duty is admirable until it becomes sad/concerning with how much its prioritized over her own needs and wants as a person.
This character archetype of denying your own humanity and fixating self sacrifice, especially out of a sense of duty and/or poor self worth, is incredibly on brand for Genshin to write & something we know they’re capable of writing well and with variety.
Like, similarly to Furina, Mavuika is sacrificing/suppressing a lot of her humanity out of her sense of duty as an Archon. The fact she very voluntarily signed up for forfeiting her relationships with her family & neglecting her wants as a person because she’s so set on saving Natlan would be really compelling, but is constantly undercut by the fact it ultimately has little impact on…anything.
Mavuika’s grief for her lost family never makes her falter or struggle in places it would matter—other characters comment she doesn't focus on her own wants/needs, but this never seems to have any genuine emotional or physical consequences on Mavuika as a person or anyone around her. She just, um…tells you she figured out how to cope with her grief a while ago, or that she will maybe try to paint for fun to unwind between her responsibilities, etc.
It feels like even more of a missed opportunity when you consider how well elaborating on things like that would’ve aligned with Natlan’s “no one fights alone” mantra. If Mavuika is actively suffering from the consequences of shouldering so much burden alone out of a sense of duty i think it would’ve worked really well to have the rest of the Natlan cast challenge that, especially when they are so widely good natured and enthusiastic about being cooperative to an almost comedic degree
A lot of what they try to show of Mavuika’s emotions feels crammed into the last act of the AQ, and by then it’s really too late to have good pay off because there’s no room for build up. I wish they’d had something more along the lines of…Yelan getting into a tense argument with Xiao trying to self sacrifice in Perious Trail, or Nahida being so set on sacrificing herself for Sumeru’s sake in her 2nd SQ she’s seen torn up about & struggling to accept the outcome of someone sacrificing themselves in her place instead in the aftermath. Have her arc be struggling to internalize “no one fights alone” applies to her too, or something.
At the very least I wish there was more fanfare or resistance over her not being the one to sacrifice herself in the end omg. She just gets talked down a bit by Citlali & Traveler & then just kinda stands there like “oh…ok :(“ when Capitano shows up with a power point presentation about why this should be His self sacrifice moment now HAHDBXJHXND
Anyways. TLDR Mavuika feels like she was supposed to be a very specific flavor of self sacrificial Genshin character with problems but for some reason Genshin just didn’t do this, which was definitely to the overwhelming detriment of the emotional stakes for Natlan’s Archon Quest but really funny conceptually because it’s like here she is, the one you’ve all been waiting for: one (1) Genshin archon who’s main deal is being an abnormal level of emotionally well adjusted compared to everyone else. Enjoy!
Mavuika is unintentionally kind of a hilarious character, because she really feels like she was supposed to be written with the Furina/Nahida/Xiao/Childe etc flavor of “self destructive suppression of your own humanity until you explode”, but for no narratively beneficial reason whatsoever she veered so far into the other direction she ended up being written as a level of emotionally stable so abnormal for Genshin characters it feels like a parody of itself. Like Mavuika to me is your mid 30s chronically offline millennial coworker who gets a sensible chuckle out of terms like “adulting” and very amicably informs you she considers herself a “proud ally of the LGBTQ+ community” despite the fact Xilonen has been trying desperately for years to get her to stop passively contemplating The War long enough to realize she’s bisexual. If you ever ask her how she’s feeling emotionally she will look you directly in the eyes and assure you with complete sincerity that she never has any trouble regulating her emotions ever
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