phyneire - Tumblr blog

[phyneire]

Blame @its-a-journal-of-ideals Pierro X Tsaritsa Lives now in my mind

Captano suffers yet again for being the best listener in this forsaken castle.

[phyneire]

画龙点睛 (speedpaint)

[phyneire]

Pierrroooooo the man that you are

[phyneire]

Leyline apparitions

[phyneire]

Literally predicted the aq

[phyneire]

Polar bear Tsaritsa and the cubs that refuse to get along

[phyneire]

I want to point out something that was perhaps overlooked

When Signora's boss first released I, like many others, assumed the 'old name' mentioned in the Hellfire Butterfly description was referring to 'Rosalyne' the name that's revealed during the duel.

However, in the Fatui PV both Pierro and Arlecchino call Signora 'Rosalyne' which meant she was actively going by the name at the time of her death.

[phyneire]

I dont thunk its unintentional that the first human to turn hilichurl is referred to as a caterpillar, Cater also takes on the moniker of "Chrysalis of the Phantasmic Moth." After assimilating into the Ordo.

[phyneire]

Tsaritsa design belongs to karamelkotak on twitter, but have this silly little thing thats probably been made before.

[phyneire]

I ask this question because descenders are unaffected by irminsul rewrites, the traveller is able to preserve memories the rest of Teyvat can no longer view. When Nahida, the avatar of Irminsul, is unable to pull up any data on the traveller because they're "not of this world," I find it very odd that the Fatui Harbingers have access to Information they, from all accounts shouldn't have.

The only harbinger I can think that was close enough to Irminsul and would have the authority to do something like this is Pierro. I don't think Pierro is a descender himself, he regards Khaenri'ah as his homeland, but is it possible he could be the descendant of a descender. Being Khaenri'ahn doesn't make you immune to Irmsinsul rewrites, we know this cause Dainsleif doesn't remember Scaramouche, so if Pierro does have this ability it would have to be attributed to a foreign concept.

From the Caribert quest its implied that even if your mixed genetics hail from centuries ago the defining genetic marker that seperated you from "pure" khaenri'ahns was still present, so if a descender had settled and had children, I dont think it's impossible for Pierro to still have some of those abilities even centuries later.

I have very little evidence for this aside from the fact that the Harbingers have access to information they shouldn't and the information on the descenders can't be divine wisdom granted by the Tsaritsa because she doesn't have access to that information. There's also the question of what Pierro actually had to offer the Tsaritsa. All the other harbingers have contributed to Snezhnaya in one way or another (Dottore, Sandrone, Pantalone, etc), or they are powerful allies to have (Signora, Childe, Capitano, etc). Pierro isn't naturally either, at the time he'd have met the Tsaritsa he'd have been a wandering man with a sword and no home to his name. Sure, the Tsaritsa could've taken pity on him and not killed him, but that doesn't explain his harbinger status.

Having access to deleted, corrupted, or otherwise inaccessible Irminsul data that the archons don't would certainly make you a valuable asset. If Pierro can access the information on the descenders, what other information does he have on Primordial Teyvat? What does he know? What did he tell the Tsaritsa for her to have such an abrupt change in goal? Whatever information he gave to her, was the basis for the Fatui we see today.

The genetic makeup of each nation's people is elementally unique. Only Sumerans could have Eleazar, only Fontainians can be dissolved into the Primordial Sea, etc. There is a defining genetic marker that sets each nation apart elementally. What would the consequences be of a descender settling in Teyvat and having children?

[phyneire]

Who Neuvillette is as a character absolutely explodes my brain whenever I think about it too hard.

He is the original dragon ruler of the world that was vanquished by a foreign entity. He gets reincarnated in the form of a member of his own vanquisher's people and is given the position of the chief judge in their society. But instead of using his societal role and strength to enact revenge, he develops a sense of compassion for his usurper's creations that is so powerful it makes the skies themselves weep whenever he is confronted with their pain. Like are you kidding me. Are you fucking kidding me

[phyneire]

The genetic makeup of each nation's people is elementally unique. Only Sumerans could have Eleazar, only Fontainians can be dissolved into the Primordial Sea, etc. There is a defining genetic marker that sets each nation apart elementally. What would the consequences be of a descender settling in Teyvat and having children?

[phyneire]

[phyneire]

On the topic of Muspelheim I also wonder if the "Crimson Witch of Flames" is supposed to be Teyvat's Surtr. I have very little evidence of this other than her powers being described as a "flame that can devour everything," and the shivada jade gemstone

"Sorry... to also have you shoulder the grievances of the world. "Since you could endure my bitter cold, you must have the desire to burn? "Then, burn away the old world for me."

Which sounds like the Tsaritsa talking to Signora. She is the only "fire giant" in the world of Teyvat so far.

"You astound me, you have but a human body, yet you carry such a power within you."

This has also always sounded like Pierro recognises, or at least believes he understands, the art Signora wields. Whether he does or not I don't know but the way this is worded sounds like he believes himself to have an idea. If Khaenri'ah believes in a similar creation myth to Ymir, which isn't too much of a stretch. Irminsul (Yggdrasil) exists, Ymir is implied to be a primeval being in Teyvat, perhaps Pierro believed Signora to be a descendent/successor of this primeval power.

[phyneire]

Been reading up on Norse cosmology recently, because I remembered Ymir is described as being a primeval being in the webtoon.

Ymir was created from the meeting of Niflheim and Muspelheim in Ginnungagap, the sparks from the latter was melting the edges of niflheim and from that liquid Ymir was born. I wonder if this is also where the primordial sea comes from.

[phyneire]

The Art of Liquid Fire. Where did it come from?

A lot of people believe Rosalyne learned the liquid fire art through the Akademiya, I've always disagreed with this sentiment and this post expands on why.

The Akademiya Curriculum

Sumeru Akademiya is not a place you go to to learn practical elemental skills. We've heard from many npcs and playable characters alike, Spantamad focuses on the theory of the elements and observation and the other darshans aren't element focused at all.

All the alumni we've met, or know of, that have gone on to become vision holders did not hone these skills through the akademiya, rather they developed them externally, or after they'd completed their studies. While yes it made some of their studies easier, especially if they were a spantamad scholar, their practical elemental skills were developed after receiving divine recognition.

I don't know what Rosalyne studied at the Akademiya, we don't even know for certain what darshan she was in, Spantamad is most likely but it's yet to be confirmed. At the very most, her studies may have aided her practical elemental skills but the Akademiya did not teach them.

Very Little Is Known About The Art

Sumeru Akademiya is located in the nation of Wisdom, and since the Lawrence Clan burned down 4/5 of the Mondstadt Library, the akademiya has served (and still serves) as Teyvat's largest modern archive of knowledge.

It's very unlikely that the physical embodiment of the "Crimson Witch" was the art Signora learned,

"Rumour told of how she sacrificed her mortal body to become the embodiment of liquid fire herself"

instead her sacrifice seems to serve as the art in it's raw, most destructive and desperate form.

"And so the Crimson Witch continued to burn,"

The time it took for Rosalyne to turn into the Crimson Witch also indicates a gradual loss of control over her own powers.

It's an art that was supposedly once prosperous and reknowned, and only once has there ever been a Crimson Witch, I fail to see the Akademiya forbidding the knowledge because of the danger, and even if they did there would still be some evidence in the restricted section.

However its explicitly stated that the art was 'lost to time.' Implying this knowledge is no longer accessible at all, there's no one upkeeping a modern record of the art anywhere, and as a consequence it's been forgotten or abandoned in the process of social evolution and linguistic deviation.

Rosalyne's Youth

We know nothing about Signora's childhood, we have no confirmation she's from Mondstadt, and we have no mention of parents or siblings. We have only her name and her artifacts to go off of.

The etymology of her name has been discussed and dissected multiple times, but what stands out to me is not the meaning itself but the origin — this makes more sense later — "Lohefalter" is Old German, meaning 'blazing butterfly' showing her age by using Old German to source the etymology of her name.

Likewise, she's almost always exclusively referred to as a 'maiden,' meaning 'a girl, or (usually young), unmarried woman' given Rostam was most likely in his early 40s when he died I'm going to assume hyv is using the term maiden to refer to her marital status, or lack thereof, and not her age.

Aside from the one occasion she's referenced as an 'apprentice.' Given the fact that Mondstadt is based on the Holy Roman Empire and medieval Germany, I am working with the medieval definition of an apprentice, that being:

"An apprentice was a young person, most often male, who learned a trade by working for a guild master. Apprenticeships often began at age 12, and commonly lasted from two to seven years. Apprentices frequently lived at their master's house and were given room and board, but earned no money."

In comparison to 'her maiden years' Rosalyne would have been a young girl during her "Witch's Scorching Hat" days. This further extends her parallels with Childe as it alludes to a master or mentor whom she stayed with and worked under for a time in her adolescence. I'm inclined to believe Rosalyne was with this master for at least 6 years, as outside of this time period she's exclusively referred to as a maiden, making her at the very least 18 years old.

This makes sense with her timeline, and why Rosalyne appears to come out of nowhere, if she spent her youth outside of Mondstadt and moved there later after ending her apprenticeship.

Furthermore I always believed her comment in Liyue

"Just as a child quickly matures after losing their parents, so has Liyue matured when faced with the death of its deity..."

– to be about herself. We know from her artifacts that her mockery of Teppei's death, while it seemed like a morbid, out-of-pocket allegory, it can be reflected in her own story; and I don't believe her morbid comment about an orphan to be an exception.

[phyneire]

Traveler: You must be surprised to see me here

Signora: Not really, since you follow me everywhere