We Can Fall In Love, For A Time.

We can fall in love, for a time.

Visions: Cryo and Hydro

The question of why people receive a specific vision has been bothering me for some time, because for some elements the correlation is very obvious and consistent, like for cryo and hydro, and for others it seemingly doesn’t make any sense. But after mulling over it, I think I finally managed to make a system.

Edit: part two: Pyro Part three: Geo Part four: Anemo

My thesis is that vision users are not grouped into elements by their innate characteristics or attributes, but by their *Perception* of themselves and the world.

For example, Cryo users see themselves as being isolated, and isolated on a profound level because of something they had no control over. They feel like they are stuck between two conflicting worlds, without being able to belong in either of them, and very often they feel burdened by a lifelong struggle that the outside world will not understand or even will be opposed to.

Kaeya, who was sent to Mondstadt as a child to be a spy for Khaenri'ah, and was rejected by his closest person when he tried to open up

Eula rejects the supremacist ideals of her family, but is simultaneously judged for her heritage by the people of Mondstadt, so she belongs to neither

Diona wages a self-proclaimed war against drinking while being a bartender in a nation known for it’s alcohol, while also carrying responsibility for her alcoholic middle aged catboy father (seriously, someone pls call child protection services for Diona)

Aloy is a literal outsider from another world

Ganyu has an entire storyquest dedicated to how lonely she feels, not belonging to either the mortal society or Adepti.

Shenhe has the same conflict as Ganyu, but like. More homicidal.

Qiqi is a literal zombie among the living who has no memories

Rosaria who was hardened by the life of a criminal, and now feels like she’s a black widow who needs to get her hands dirty to protect the naive innocents of Mondstadt, without ever actually connecting with them

Chongyun who is disconnected from the normal people because he dedicated his life to being an exorcist, while at the same time feeling like he doesn’t belong with the “real” exorcists, bc ghosts are afraid of his natural energy and not the traditional exorcist techniques.

Ayaka has an entire storyline about how she feels isolated from the people of Inazuma by the virtue of having to represent Yashiro commision, to the point where she thinks she can’t go to the festival that her own family organised

And finally, from what we know of Tsaritsa, who was kind and sweet before the cataclysm, and after that dedicated her life to the unseen crusade against Celestia, alone in her hidden war for what she believes to be a greater good, she represents the culmination of this idea

Now Hydro. Ummm, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard this, but the power of water is its ability to take any shape. Hydro users are mimics, who feel pressured to shape themselves into a some specific role and present this illusion to the world. Btw, mark my words, Hydro archon is gonna be such a fake bitch.

Barbara feels obligated to pretend to always be happy and welcoming for her fans, while being like. Perpetually depressed and hiding from the most aggressive of them.

Childe’s entire storyquest is about him keeping up an image of a toy salesman for his little brother, at the more and more escalating costs to both his work and his health

Mona’s entire storyquest is about pretending to be self-sufficient and dignified astrologist, while being broke and confused on what to do

Xingqiu keeps up separate personas of a book nerd hellbent on gallantry and the industrious son of a wealthy mongrel, and he might let you know of his heritage if he already trusts you as a book nerd, but he’s terrified of his father finding out he’s an author of utena light novels, as shown at the Irodori festival

Kokomi’s storyline is about her being exhausted and feeling inadequate to be the high priestess, so she has a literal energy bar for how long she can keep up the appearances

Ayato is all about showing a presentable image of a commision head as a bait and striking from behind it

Yelan is not out yet, but all we know about her is that she’s a spy, which fits the theme of mimics to a t

Now, speaking of the spies, a natural question may arise. Why is Kaeya, who was forced to be a spy from childhood, a literal Spy Kid, if you will, is not a Hydro? He shares so many character beats with Ayato, it’s interesting to consider why they have different visions.

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addictweirdo

3 months ago

i have nothing appropriate to say