Hilichurls and "Tribal" Portrayals.
While we're talking about Natlan, I also want to mention how awful it is that a section of the fandom tried to make us all out to be crazy years ago for pointing out how racist the portrayal of the Hilichurls are.
Quick content warning for mentions of slavery, colonization, genocide, and anti-Indigenous racism. (Image description is in alt text)
Hoyo used Indigenous people as references for these in-game enemies, which we literally have video proof of, provided by the company itself (Timestamp: 1:30).
The Hilichurls were constantly belittled by Teyvat's people, with an Inazuma npc likening them to demons. I remember Paimon acting like the items they collected were meaningless or pieces of junk during the earlier parts of the game.
They become a lot more sympathetic later due to their actual origins in-game (which I'm sure @phoenix-creates can confirm for me because I know you're farther ahead in Genshin than I am right now), sure, but I always found it strange that Hoyo used Indigenous cultures to portray these "monsters" who have lost their sense of selves (meanwhile their human forms are white), as if to imply that Indigenous cultures are more "wild" or "savage."
Genshin fans of color, since 2020, have pointed out the racist undertones that Teyvat's people were perpetuating against the Hilichurls due to them acting the same way that racists irl act towards non-White cultures, but they were told that they were overreacting and this was swept under the rug as a result. The very next year, it's brought up again with more people finding out about it, and we were still being told that we're overreacting.
So now that we're at Natlan, is it seriously that hard to believe that Hoyo straight up just doesn't respect Indigenous cultures? Black (and many brown) cultures too, because it's very telling that Iansan, the Natlan character with the darkest skin so far, is given a more stereotypically "tribal" look on her design with a bunch of bones used as her accessories despite that not being what her actual inspiration looks like.
(Artist for picture on the right: vieirapx on Instagram)
Sucrose has confirmed in her "Something to Share" voiceline that she collects Hilichurl bones, which is similar to colonizers taking the bones of dead Indigenous people with this added context.
Also, please read or reread the Teyvat Travel Guide Vol. 1. Alice basically confirms that she wants to enslave the Hilichurls for labor and also feed the weaker ones to the stronger ones.
That latter point is cannibalism. I know that many people are fans of Alice, but a lot of what she talks about in the first guide is why I don't like her.
Yes, it can be argued that Indigenous cultures are not the only inspiration for the Hilichurls, as it's been said that they may take inspiration from goblins, Bokoblins from the Zelda franchise, and the Amanojuku from Japanese mythology. Answer me this question, though.
Why is Hoyo capable of referencing a creature and not a human being when it comes to the Japanese inspiration for the Hilichurls, but this does not apply to the Indigenous references? It's dehumanizing, and it feels like another double-standard that needs to be addressed.
Hoyo has casually made black and brown cultures in Genshin appear to be less civilized and more "tribal" compared to our White and East Asian peers, both with the human characters and the non-human ones. Sumeru's quests and enemy npcs had multiple examples of this, with the Traveler and Jeht even destroying almost the entire Tanit tribe with the narrative justification being that, conveniently, most or all of them were selfish, bloodthirsty, and manipulative (Jeht's profile on the wiki page goes into what happened with more depth). They had to die because the tribe was dangerous - even though the main problem seems to be Babel - and Jeht's white, blonde companion needed to help save everyone from these evil, power-hungry savages.
(Sidenote: I think this is the second time overall that Hoyo has come up with an excuse to justify Traveler committing genocide on an entire group of people, with the first being the Iwakura Clan.)
I'm sure that the same thing is going to happen with Natlan's quests and npcs because Hoyo has always been weird about the portrayal of black and brown-inspired characters. The question is not whether any of the creatures or humans from specific groups are bad, suspicious, or designed to fit a specific image. We know the answer to that. The real question is why they are portrayed like this, and why it keeps happening more commonly to the black and brown cast members compared to our lighter peers.
110 notes
·
View notes
So I finished the Rimet Cup Event
It was really good! I enjoyed the event story a lot, mostly because of the characters and how they moved the plot along. Nothing felt boring or dragged out longer than it should, plus the character interactions were funny and wholesome.
Melania was a queen, I thought she was cool at first but seeing her in action was amazing. I also liked her dynamic with Ms. Acey, and her plan to steal the Rimet Cup was interesting to watch unfold. Pickles was cool too, though what really got me invested was his relationship with Charlton. Regulus and Mr. APPle’s side plot was funny, I’m glad I got to see more of them.
The character who really stole the show for me was Diggers. I already liked him because prior to this event I thought he was a typical chill hippie dude that was just a little in over his head. Then I found out that apparently people hated this guy because it turned out he was lowkey a terrorist??? Bro was stealing documents, disrupting the peace, drugged a whole BLOCK of people to throw an improvised block party, and apparently in a scene I haven’t seen yet, kidnapped Pickles because he got more attention than him?!
I thought my opinion on him would shift watching these events unfold but no, I love him all the same. He’s just this chaotic, silly lil dude who wants to spread peace (by doing it in the worst way possible)! This man was honestly hilarious, and the fact that he may or may not have joined the Manus Vindictae in 1.4 is just insane to me. Bro really thought the best way to spread peace and love was to join a literal terrorist cult, that’s actually hilarious.
TL;DR: event rerun was great, Diggers was the best character, I love him 🥰
28 notes
·
View notes
one day we’ll talk about how extremely xenophobic the atla fandom is in how they justify the original cast’s horrible writing in the (more western 😃) sequel series by demeaning and degrading the cultures that they’re based on
starting with: aang being a bad dad makes sense because he grew up with monks and didn’t have a biological father
how utterly disgusting and weird. but honestly i just feel bad that so many of you have been brainwashed so effectively
meanwhile zuko is, according to the fandom, a good father and that makes sense despite his biological father being abusive for his entire childhood
but watch they will bring up iroh as if aang didn’t have gyatso
watch how they will complain about toph being a cop despite her last canon appearance being a 12 year old just like aang
watch how they will criticize katara and sokka’s (lack of) character development while claim that aang was written perfectly.
35 notes
·
View notes
All Might: Young Midoriya, you mustn’t tell anyone about One for All it is the greatest secret the world has ever known. To have this power is to be alone. I am deeply sorry for the burden I have granted upon you.
All Might, in the next episode: Oh btw here’s my doctor and the principal, they both know about OfA. And this old guy I know, he’s known about it for forever and also this cop knows too. Oh, Nighteye obviously knows but we don’t talk anymore and this is my ex Dave and his daughter, he knows of course and I can’t quite remember if she does but anyway this is my barista but don’t worry they’re cool peep the blue hair they’d never out me-
38 notes
·
View notes
Not really an ask more of a message but I reeeealy love your rw AU, particularly chasing wind, NSH and moon, moon seems so vibrant, so alive in the world, as if she was learning everything for the first time each thing sparking joy in her, I know chasing wind doesn't get a lot of content in the base game but I LOVE what you've done with his characterization, he's a little bit older but he makes it work, he's kind but he doesn't really like socialization. he takes everything people say seriously at first but can take a joke. he loves his projects and the feeling of looking at a creation knowing it comes from his vision made corporeal. And your personality of no serious arassment is exactly what I think he represents, he loves his friends and he loves making fun of them and doesn't let anyone sit up on a shelf all alone. I also really like the idea of travel puppets since they make sense in game and allow you to do so much with the iterators when they're no longer confined to a 20 foot room. Sorry if this sounds bad it was written at 2 In the morning on my phone.
Gdbdhdhh????? Aaaa thank you thank you!!! I know im not the best at the game lore or writing but i really try. I say this alot but im super biased towards happy endings and i mean that already went against rw lore, so i really try to develop the iterators and the world and the story so it makes sense and has more to it than just oop theyre happy! Thats the story.
YEAH MOON IS HAPPY NOW! This whole time she had to be professional, the senior that has everything under control, responsible for people who sees her as a tool. Now shes free of her chamber! Shes almost indestructable, she can just... go! She doesnt have to pretend to like her citizens, doesnt have a structure to constantly worry about, no more working on the Great Problem shes just... free! She loves slugcats so now she can just go travel with them! She can go and visit and physically hug her sibling and friends! She can travel the world and live out the rest of her existance NOT stuck in a room constantly getting drowned. Like heck yeah girl is gonna be more vibrant!
Man i dont even draw wind alot, i know i probably should, heck UI has a dedicated comic for her backstory so wind should get one too. They overwork and worry about things alot yeah but theres an end goal they want to achieve! They have things they want done and i totally agree they WOULD be super proud to be able to make their ideas real. Theyre not super social but that doesnt mean they hate their fellow iterators, they listen and they want whats best for the group!
Sigs personality is kinda determined already and the fandom collectively agree hes a lil gremlin man. We love the gremlin man. Now with the ancients gone and new found freedom he has more time to do what he wants and what makes him happy!
Off the string aus arent that rare especially in ths fandom where the canon ending is sad robots get stuck in room forever .-. But yeah atleast with it our fave robots get to do more with their life
Final words. You probably should sleep bestie
43 notes
·
View notes