#kinda ranty not rly a huge point here but Yeah!

[nicotachi]

(i was inspired by the prev reblog but i figure my tags were quickly devolving into a "make your own post" moment)

the thing about ganyu is that i REALLY like the lore they've provided us with, enough to construct a complex and nuanced character that goes beyond the few glimpses we see of her in the liyue archon quest.

my hot take is i actually, don't really care whether or not those things are explicitly shown in the main storyline. i ship gq for god's sake, and i've never wanted more than a nod for either (i feel like i always have to clarify: i don't particularly expect or even want them to become canon), because i love when the audience is trusted to connect the dots themselves. i know that in fanwork, there's a fine line between assembling the puzzle pieces deliberately left by the creators and making a sandwich out of discarded bread, but i like to think of it as the former.

but what i don't appreciate is yeah, why are they filling her precious screentime with fat jokes and being sleepy or timid?? chenyu vale already showed that they cannot be normal about a woman without injecting weight insecurities. the sleepy girl thing has also been done so many times that i could name like five female characters who have it as a core personality trait. i just don't understand the logic. hbomberguy once pointed out in his "why r*by is disappointing" video essay that it was almost like two opposing forces were writing the same characters and i see that here a little bit.

ganyu in the side materials (story quest, world quest mentions, body language in the CINEMATICS, etc) comes off as a very firm and wise person, while ganyu in the most recent lantern rite is in a constant state of fatigue or discomfort. neither of those are emotions or personality traits!! she's treated as a placeholder at times when they could easily call back to the other, more interesting things they've written about her in the game.

but as an aside: i don't actually agree with any sentiments that favor her soldier past over her secretary role. i believe both are important parts to her just as she is half qilin and human. to box her into one thing or another kind of misses the point of her character imo, that people contain multitudes, and can drastically change over a long enough stretch of time and circumstances.