Hi guys I am Inotia King a youtuber, redditor and gamer who likes theorizing about the story. I actually cobbled together a list of some of my more important theories with respect to the game Genshin Impact and Star Rail that I have been basing all of my newer theories on. I'll be putting more of those up on Hive along with new stuff but if you're impatient I also archived all my theories here. I hope some of you guys are game theorists too. Let's try to figure out these great games together!
I came up with a "Poetry" Theory a long time ago, suggesting that every other region would have similar themes for their Archon Quests. I had already pointed out those similarities when it came to Fontaine and Inazuma's quests but I've recently noticed more which further helps us understand that story.
For one thing, Focalors' Divinity as miHoYo played it is a dead ringer for Yae Miko. Let's look at their stats. Both of them started out as familiars to their respective Archons. Specifically (also controversially lol) they were elemental beings with Yae being a reference to Inari (originally set to be the Tenno original Electro Archon to Ei's usurping Shogun but now changed to be the Electro Dragon Sovereign) and Focalors' Divinity being an Oceanid. They therefore represent the divine aspects of themselves, "Yae" being the thing possessing the kitsune Yae Miko while Focalors' Divinity is the Gnosis part to the Oceanid human Furina. And on that note, the Gnosis having been Egeria's it means "Focalors' Divinity" is intricately tied to her region's history just like "Yae" is to hers. Egeria created all of Fontaine's humans while "Yae" established the original Narukami, setting up the youkai to be a protectorate for the incoming Inazuman humans. Less controversially they are both notably working against the Heavenly Principles in their respective Archon Quests and to do so they both came up with carefully laid out plans. And also both of their plans involved antagonizing the current Archon, manipulating them to get them in the right place at the right time. And finally in this case Yae didn't seem to deliberately do it but she noted that the Euthymia might actually accelerate erosion rather than prevent it like Ei had wanted therefore both of them cursed their Archons. (Actually that's a similarity between the then current Archons as well. They were both human before becoming Archons, Furina ending up returning to being an Oceanid human before Neuvillette made her a real human.)
Extending from that was my Witness Loophole Theory. Because there's been heavy emphasis on the Traveler being the Witness and therefore needing to see all major events in Teyvat, there was something interesting to note about the Fontaine Archon Quest: The Traveler didn't see the explanation Focalors' Divinity gave to Neuvillette. They were with Furina instead and we as players never got to see what they saw on that side of things. This led me to suggest that what they saw was a secret about the true nature of what Focalors did, not the story she told Neuvillette. That truth will eventually play out whenever miHoYo decides to give us Furina's Second Character Quest.
Well Yae's Character Quest played with this too, only in reverse which further pushes my controversial theory about her. To review, my theory is that Yae Miko is the kitsune vessel who is being possessed by the Electro Dragon Sovereign. What was the major theme of Yae's Character Quest? Possession. Specifically with respect to my Witness Loophole Theory, when Yae had Urakusai possess the Traveler it's revealed afterwards that the Traveler was aware of everything that happened while possessed. As such in this case the Witness stipulation is upheld. Just like Zhongli and Neuvillette, Yae wants the Traveler to see all. In particular she wanted to point out how possession works or more specifically the possession of something weaker by something stronger, something whose memories can only briefly exist vs something who can remain conscious despite being just a memory. In other words, humans are getting possessed by youkai but what might possess a youkai? And the Traveler is made to see this.
They are also made aware that possession doesn't mean takeover; the possessed is conscious and aware of the possessor though they might not have any control during that time. It's implied that while Yae Miko the kitsune isn't the active personality, she's still active inside of the Electro Dragon possessing her. This would explain why she'd respond to Urakusai's comments about being a young kitsune for example. She is both at the same time; the dragon might even let her operate for the mundane stuff and only take over when needed.
Side Note: I forget if I pointed this out in my older topics about this but since I doubt anybody would have a problem calling Yae Miko an expy for Honkai's Yae Sakura, then the possession thing is a given. Yae Sakura played host to the Herrscher of Corruption. There have just been so many angles to see this.
I wasn't and still am not a fan of how miHoYo portrayed the Focalors story. I stand by my analysis that if Focalors was one of Egeria's Oceanid humans, ascended to Archonhood using Egeria's Gnosis, and then separated that divinity from her Oceanid human body, then Focalors' Divinity is just Egeria. 1+x-x = 1
But we can still look at the Seele expy from that portrayal anyway. Instead of the simple and clean Egeria and Furina being Seele and Veliona, it's just a matter of saying "Focalors' Divinity" is Veliona and Furina is Seele. Yes I flipped it for this portrayal. We meet Seele first in Honkai before finding out about her issues. Seele is weak and impressionable. This is exactly how Furina is portrayed especially the true version of her we learn about by the end of the Archon Quest; her true personality is muted and uncertain. Conversely, the divine self was manipulative and openly admitted to cursing Furina. Even so, she cherished her humanity. That's very Veliona-like. She was openly antagonistic towards Seele but truthfully wanted to see the best of her.
We can also extend this to Furina herself the duplicity she showed throughout the quest. Her true self as seen in Act V is again that shy and uncertain Seele personality but to convince the people of her Archonhood she acted brash and flamboyant. That would also qualify as Veliona.
It's a short one compared to my usual stuff but I think it was still interesting. So let's quickly review:
Poetry Theory Section
- Yae's lore and Furina's are nearly identical with the focus shifted, the divine aspect for Yae and the mortal side for Furina.
- They are also labeled as the familiars of their respective Archons.
- Yae and Egeria are also deeply connected to their respective regions and their histories by comparison to the regional leader.
- Both also defy the Heavenly Principles and their plans involve antagonizing the current Archon, both of whom were shown to be inept leaders. Their plans also required their Archons be in a particular place at a particular time.
Witness Theory Section
- Focalors set it up where she told Neuvillette details of her plan but the Traveler was with Furina instead. This could mean the Traveler witnessed something else which even we the players have not seen yet.
- Conversely while the Archon Quest and Ei's Quests played out in one fashion, Yae's Character Quest has the Traveler become possessed and remain fully cognizant of the experience. This hints at the nature of Yae herself, that she's physically a five hundred year old kitsune but spiritually she's been kitsunetsuki'd by the much greater more knowledgeable power.
Seele Expy Section
- If we don't interpret Focalors' Divinity as Egeria herself then the scenes characterizing them still translates Furina as being a Seele expy. Furina herself is Seele while the Gnosis is Veliona.
- Furthermore Furina's own act defines the Seele/Veliona dynamic where her true shy and insecure self is Seele while the "Archon" front she put up is Veliona.
Ok so it wasn't that quick of a review but it's still quick when it comes to me right lol
Topic originally created on July 7th, 2024.