A little disappointed by Columbina, by a retired player

(I haven’t played since skirk update, but I’ve tried to keep up with lore. Please correct me if I’d missed anything.)

I miss the uncanny, otherworldly being masquerading in the form of a not-all-there woman vibe she had. I missed when Bina was weird and uncanny and was like a biblically accurate angel who had this feeling of knowing more than she lets on and being playfully removed from the world and its struggles as if it was a game and she was above it all.

I’m also sad they playable-charactered (sanitized) her. I’ve noticed a lot of my favorite characters with the most complex stories, like Rerir or La Signora, didn’t fall into the massive appeal for gacha button. Why did they advertise her first in the Fatui just to be like “SIKE lol she’s too pure to stay.” Why did they make her whole color palette blue when in all the hoyofair art she was serving like black and pink gothic vampire/ demon/ false angel energy? What happened to this feeling of otherworldly power barely veiled and controlled behind a girlish, carefree facade? It was such a novel concept and I fear they just kinda stripped her down to another light blue playable woman who can do no wrong and is cute. Let women be WEIRD and UNSETTLING and COMPLEX. If you did it for Arle, it can’t be hard to do again! Can’t cute girls be complex too?

(Feel free to criticize me anywhere. These are just my observations from all the info I ever saw. Back before I quit, she was my most looked forward to character but I frankly would never want another blue curse girl. Zibai seems goated though I love how she seems to fit into lore from the one animation done earlier in the game’s history!)

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Commentaires

Galois23572026-01-08 18:30

The uncanniness was all fanom though? We got the slightest hints toward it from (the notoriously untrustworthy narrators) childe and ‘chino, but after that the fans took it up wayyy too much

CHONPSCa2026-01-08 18:56

The childe one is funny. I've seen someone bring it up in a comment. Something something childe tells the traveller to be careful about columbina because she ranks number 3 in a ranking system where you're ranked by strength, yet all she do is sing all day.

Turns out the girl is a god lmfao. No shit she's gonna be strong.

I will be more surprised if a god lands on the 10th spot

Fleur_Hiiroluvr2026-01-08 19:00

And Sandrone literally commented about that in last AQ. Tsaritsa personally picked Columbina to be rank 3 of the Harbingers and then all she was doing was just hang around and sing. Of course people would be weirded out and catious.

SHTPST_Tianquan2026-01-08 18:31

it looks to me that you had a lot of headcanons that were never based on actual evidence of things being like that.

HIkaUri2026-01-08 18:31

So, if I understand correctly, you haven’t played this story and are judging the character without knowing her?

Opalkitten2592026-01-08 18:39

I simply was giving my observations and asking what I’ve missed. I’m just confused and a little whiplashed.

HIkaUri2026-01-08 19:14

You've missed the story. I think complaining that she's not a complex character when you don't know her story is not very smart

Opalkitten2592026-01-08 19:14

Yeah that’s why I told people to feel free to fill me on what I was missing.

HIkaUri2026-01-08 19:25

Sorry, but I really don't feel like retelling 30 hours of story to you. Just go and play it yourself. Other people have already pointed out how wrong you are, You took your fantasies for granted, even though you had no basis for your theory. So all you have to do is play through the story.

Apotheonosis22026-01-08 20:03

Don't forget that you also told people to "feel free to criticize me" but the moment people did, you starting insulting them, claiming they're Hoyo-shills who'd eat any "slop" they put out, blaming the company for misleading their customers even though the video you claim to be official media was explicitly stated as fan art, and doing anything else BUT take accountability.

What makes you think anyone would be willing to show you any courtesy and breakdown 3 patches worth of lore if this is how you responded to people who did exactly what you said they could do?

Gentlemanor2026-01-08 18:31

So you miss the headcanon Columbina who in the actual canon game was never like that?

It should have been obvious that the Damselette would be a damsel in distress, no?

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 18:31

Ok so you've definitely didn't keep up with lore cause everything you just said was things fans made up and was never canon at all

The fact you mentioned hoyofair is so funny when everyone knows that's full of fan content and has absolutely nothing to do with actual lore

Columbina was never what you described people just made their own headcanons and then got mad when it wasn't real she was also not "too pure to stay in the fatui" she just wanted to go home and didn't wanna stay in a place where she felt she was only useful if she could do something if you did her quest or at least looked into it you would know that

Columbina is still weird and complex, but people overlook that now cause she didn't end up as a gothic vampire who wants everyone dead or something

Opalkitten2592026-01-08 18:38

“Everyone knows,” know I did not I do not circle my life around a gacha game so I don’t know which official media comes from where. When I see something Hoyo branded, I’m led to assume it’s official.

notthatjaded2026-01-08 18:43

Hoyofair has disclaimers that they are *fanmade*. They've never claimed to be official.

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 18:44

Exactly thank you

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 18:44

I don't circle my life around gacha games either but if you're gonna use something as proof at least make sure you know what it is cause hoyofair is literally said everywhere to be for fan content to get distributed

bobwuzhere12242026-01-08 18:32

You miss when you still had a head canon and not what is actually canon.

TheSherman5002026-01-08 18:34

None of what you described was how she was shown to us by Hoyo.

Everything you mentioned was just headcanons made by fans. I understand why people who wanted her to be a much darker character are upset, but that isn't the fault of the game or writers.

It's the same problem with Capitiano, where is fans hyped him up so much that they thought he was basically the most powerful character in the story, and the actual information never implied he was anywhere near that strong.

HuTaosTwinTails2026-01-08 18:35

You literally made up head canons that were never accurate and treated them as if they were and then got disappointed when you were wrong.

That is all that happened here.

Opalkitten2592026-01-08 18:36

Y’all are so willing to accept whatever sanitized slop the company gives you. When the lore points to one thing and they pull the rug last minute, that just sucks. Her character now and the one advertised in a winter night’s lazzo are almost unreconcilable. Come on now. I’m not talking about headcanons, I’m talking about the company teasing one thing and giving a completely different end product. I don’t want another innocent princess waifu. I really don’t. The reason I quit this game is we haven’t had any complex female characters since Furina.

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 18:41

What about columbina singing is sp different that you act as if she was an entirely different character? You say it's not about headcanons but we all know it is cause again if you actually did her quest you would know that every canon thing hoyoverse had showed of Columbina before nod krai is definitely in character for her

notthatjaded2026-01-08 18:42

All we see of her is singing over Signora's coffin and then asking Dottore curiously what one of his segments is up to. The character we see now falls plenty in line with the one we saw in the video.

TheSherman5002026-01-08 18:43

Genuinely what lore pointed to her being a darker character? In Winter's Night Lazzo her only actions are her singing while the rest argue, which is completely inline with her current characterisation.

Opalkitten2592026-01-08 18:47

The energy of her being utterly detached from the death of an comrade and seemingly in her own little world gave the vibe of someone so powerful or otherworldly that the toils of the mortal coil simple did not phase her. But no she’s just Aether’s girlfriend of the month now. Christ on a bike I’m glad I dropped the game you really can’t trust corporations this big to be compelling at all anymore.

The_Great_Ravioli2026-01-08 18:50

She was hugging the coffin you and singing to it you hyperclown.

And you know why? Because we learned later that she had a close relationship with Signora.

There are many things to blame Hoyo for, but in this case, you are just being a dumbass.

TheSherman5002026-01-08 18:52

So it wasn't any actual lore, just your interpretation of a single action.

She is still just as detached and in her own world as she was.

It's funny when you call her "just Aether's girlfriend of the month" and also admit you haven't even played any of the content that she appears in.

Gentlemanor2026-01-08 18:59

She was literally singing a lullaby to Signora to let her rest, since, you know, the video was Signora's funeral

Opalkitten2592026-01-08 19:02

Thank you for that insight I’ve never seen that interpretation. To me it gave the vibe of Nero playing the fiddle while Rome was burning, that kind of aloof to the point of not having empathy for mortal suffering due to never experiencing it kind of vibe. I seem to remember a lot of comments during the time I was consuming Genshin media following this line of thinking too.

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 19:08

So again it's headcanons and your own interpretations cause in her quest she literally says her and signora were close

You went of off vibes and made your own interpretation and then acted like hoyoverse retconned her lmao 😭

Yani-Madara2026-01-08 18:45

I suggest heading to FatuiHQ with this opinion because people here want to burn alive anyone who criticizes their waifu.

>The reason I quit this game is we haven’t had any complex female characters since Furina.

Bro or Sis, Nefer, Arlecchino, Xilonen, Sandrone and Chasca exist. Nefer is arguably one of the playable chars that has done the most evil things. (NOT saying she is the most evil though)

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 18:47

It's so funny they mention arle in the post and then act as if she didn't come after furina lol

KillsOnTop2026-01-08 18:37

>I missed when Bina was weird and uncanny and was like a biblically accurate angel who had this feeling of knowing more than she lets on and being playfully removed from the world and its struggles as if it was a game and she was above it all.

How can you miss something you never had?

Opalkitten2592026-01-08 18:37

The fact you all can’t just tell me the lore I’ve missed and immediately defend every piss poor choice this billion dollar company makes tell me everything. So glad I dropped this community. Y’all take whatever you are given as long as it’s cute.

Gentlemanor2026-01-08 18:39

Sir, this is a gacha game. Cute people sell, creepy ones don't

notthatjaded2026-01-08 18:41

The vast majority of what we know about Columbina comes directly from her in the Nod-Krai storyline. The "lore" you reference in your post is...as everybody said, headcanon.

Before Nod-Krai the only lore that explicitly referenced Columbina were a few voicelines from the other playable Fatui that didn't really suggest she was some dark, eldritch being. And the Lazzo trailer where she spends most of it singing while she mourns Signora and a few lines at the end where she just sounds like a quiet girl curious about what Dottore's up to. That's it.

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 18:43

You said feel free to criticise but then get mad when nobody agrees with you? This isn't people defending hoyo and the fact you think it is just means you can't handle people not siding with you

Akikala2026-01-08 18:47

>immediately defend every piss poor choice this billion dollar company makes tell me everything

Or.. you know.. perhaps people simply DISAGREE WITH YOU lol. And that's without considering that you didn't even know what you're talking about in you post lol. What's "piss poor" to you might be amazing to others, you do not hold the true opinions.

> Y’all take whatever you are given as long as it’s cute.

And that's a problem because...??

fat_mothra2026-01-08 18:40

Another victim of the fan art

The Columbina you miss never existed, sorry kid

Gentlemanor2026-01-08 19:16

I just looked at your flair! I know the answer, it's Kokomi!

Akikala2026-01-08 18:43

>I miss the uncanny, otherworldly being masquerading in the form of a not-all-there woman vibe she had.

The what now?? Are you talking about fan arts and theories or something?

>I’m also sad they playable-charactered (sanitized) her.

As opposed to... what? We literally didn't know shit about her until Nod Krai lol.

>Why did they advertise her first in the Fatui just to be like “SIKE lol she’s too pure to stay.”

Probably to establish that the Fatui ISN'T some cartoonishly evil villain club? Columbina leaving the fatui shows that the harbingers have CHARACTER to them and personal motives and goals etc instead of just being numbers that we beat on our way.

>Why did they make her whole color palette blue

She still has purple hair? Is there something wrong with blue?

>Let women be WEIRD and UNSETTLING and COMPLEX

She is all of those things lol (at least when we first meet her). She is definitely not "normal".

>Can’t cute girls be complex too?

The irony of this statement is quite hilarious lol.

z0kuuu2026-01-08 18:43

??? We had nearly zero to unreliable levels of narration from Childe, Arle, and Wanderer voicelines about her, and all she did in winter nights lazzo was... sing. Which sandrone had also confirmed she does during her time in the fatui.

this is the fandom's number one problem with anything spanning from leaked concept arts to popular headcanons popularized to the point of being "canonized" and feeling betrayed when information provided later proves otherwise.

damn yall so cooked. 💀💀💀💀💀

Opalkitten2592026-01-08 18:49

I genuinely just wanted insight on what the hell was going on. I stated twice I was open to explanation on what I’ve missed. I’m just a whiplashed person returning to see what’s going on to a character completely 180’d from how they were teased in game and in media. God damn media literacy and discussion are dead if y’all immediately have the pitch forks up because I just wanted an explanation. You will defend this company to the ends of the earth and it’s wild.

notthatjaded2026-01-08 18:49

You got explanation. You just don't like the explanation you received.

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 18:51

You got an explanation you just don't like the fact everyone told you that everything you've said has not been canon at all

Fleur_Hiiroluvr2026-01-08 18:57

But we are explaining to you how she was never that way. She was never teased in game or out of game to be an uncanny, dangerous biblical angel. Those depictions were all fully fan made.

CHONPSCa2026-01-08 19:06

People are prepared to nuke dottore but you got nuked instead. You saved dottore bro

Opalkitten2592026-01-08 19:07

Damn at least his character has stayed consistent

CHONPSCa2026-01-08 19:26

Well, dottore has been an antagonist since day 1. Even in the manga. He's really designed to be a massive POS.

But columbina isn't XD. Why she's not is already all over the comment section so I don't have to.

Apotheonosis22026-01-08 19:10

>I’m just a whiplashed person returning to see what’s going on to a character completely 180’d from how they were teased in game and in media.

The only teasers for Columbina prior to Luna I was her debut in the Harbinger video and dialogues from the playable Harbingers already in-game. She does nothing in the Harbinger video than sing over Signora's grave and stand alongside the other Harbingers. The dialogue from Arlecchino, Wanderer, and Tartaglia also mostly describe her as someone who knows more than they let on.

NONE OF THESE define her as a "otherworldly being" or a "biblically accurate angel". The only places that attributed these definitions to her are fan speculations of her character, not official media. You are basing your assumptions on attributes that never existed.

>God damn media literacy and discussion are dead

The only person here that's proved media literacy is dead is you. Everything you define Columbina as was never officially attributed to her in-game and official media. It's only dead for people that make their own assumptions and believe its the truth.

You also can't dismiss criticisms from other people and say discussion is dead just because you don't like it. Discussion is very much alive, proven by how many people have discussed how you are claiming there's a character assassination when the original version never existed.

>You will defend this company to the ends of the earth and it's wild

This discussion has nothing to do with defending/criticizing Hoyo. Just like how you made false assumptions about Columbina, you're making a false assumption that people who deconstruct your perception are doing it out of support for the company.

Get over yourself.

Gentlemanor2026-01-08 19:20

If Reddit free awards still existed I would give you one now

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 19:31

You said everything I wanted to say so eloquently

CHONPSCa2026-01-08 18:50

It's just a headcanon bro

The columbina in the fatui trailer isn't even creepy at all. I rewatched it when the haters started complaining about retcon. She was just singing. Then someone brought up childe's voiceline about columbina being strong despite looking like that. Turns out, columbina is a god. She's ranked number 3 in a ranking system where you're judged by strength but all she does is sing all day. She's indeed gonna come out as creepy.

bartowski19762026-01-08 18:54

You should probably watch the Columbina cut scenes from Nod-Krai. She's almost completely removed from the world (almost disappears from it because of this). She probably doesn't know as much as you assumed she did. There is also hints of the power you talk about, but they explain why she doesn't have it (well vaguely explain).

It's takes a lot of story to get her a little out of her shell. She mostly believes her interactions with people are transactional. She really is a sad character. Watch her cut scenes. She's still weird and complex, but maybe less unsettling than you imagined her to be.

Opalkitten2592026-01-08 18:55

Thank you I will look into that. I really just wanted to know what’s going on.

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 18:58

And people told you that this is what actual columbina is and that everything you've said in your post was a headcanon and then got mad people explained literally everyone been saying this it's all in her quests

Fleur_Hiiroluvr2026-01-08 18:54

Before Nod-Krai the only appearance Columbina had was in the Winter Night's Lazzo where all she did was sing at Signora's coffin and then say Dottore looks young and ask where is one of his segment. In that video she also wore the Fatui coat that all the other Fatui wore in it. All this to say is that before Nod-Krai we knew NOTHING about her, there was no personality, no outfit design, no nothing. Only thing we had were the other Harbinger's voicelines about her which just basically were saying that she's kinda odd and talks wierdly which is what we have seen in the story.

All depictions of her design being all black and purple and her being a biblical angels which were fan headcannons. And there is nothing wrong with those (hell I was following into them too) but nothing in the canon supported Columbina actually being that way. So you cannot say you "miss how weird and uncanny Bina was" because she was never that.

Opalkitten2592026-01-08 19:01

All I’m saying is even if the Hoyofair stuff isn’t canon, the storylines are finalized so far in advance they at least have the power of discretion to not mislead consumers of their media when it doesn’t represent their intended stories. Just feels like hype building instead of transparency and that icks me.

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 19:05

Yet hoyofaur is literally always said to be fan made content so there's your transparency if you actually follow the only canon stuff about columbina before nod krai it's just her in winter nights lazzo which again is her actual character nobody got misled you did that yourself by taken things which are explicitly said to not be relevant to the game as relevant to the game you've misled yourself here lol

Opalkitten2592026-01-08 19:06

Oh my god dude they’re not gonna give you free primos you can stop riding them

Gentlemanor2026-01-08 19:23

"Feel free to criticize me"

*Loads gun upon a critique*

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 19:29

Lmao 💀

notthatjaded2026-01-08 19:13

There are quite a few cool animations we got out of Hoyofair that would never have seen the light of day going by that "power of discretion" you suggest since none of them represent Genshin's story. Like the "Elemental Warfare" stuff or the Progenitor stuff. Super cool. Totally not reflective of the game's story.

The Hoyofair stuff is *fanmade*. The content isn't made by Hoyo. The content is not directed by Hoyo. Fans come up with their own ideas and Hoyofair is just a way to showcase their work.

Anmatiel2026-01-08 19:02

One of the best examples of fan theories and fanart doing a number on someone. All we had about Columbina was a clip of her singing while hugging a coffin, a few comments about her being mysterious and somewhat difficult to talk to and nothing we currently have contradicts that.

blue748212026-01-08 19:04

literally never was like a biblically accurate angel, where are you getting this from? fanart or hoyo?

Opalkitten2592026-01-08 19:13

I have realized where my confusion stemmed from. In the original stairway to heaven video link i saw, it was the one made by the original production company and came without the disclaimer.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cf80lpl9AyU&list=RDcf80lpl9AyU&start_radio=1&pp=ygUSaG95b2ZhaXIgY29sdW1iaW5hoAcB

I literally had no idea Hoyofair isn’t canon and I don’t think as a consumer I should be blamed for believe being media officially endorsed by the company is mainline. Jesus Christ

The_Great_Ravioli2026-01-08 19:16

Amazing.

Even at the very end, you still try to find a way to blame someone else for thinking fan content is canon instead of admitting you messed up.

So childish

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 19:18

Real cause if you click the link it literally says hoyofair and it isn't posted by hoyoverse or genshin that's a literal disclaimer itself lmao

Apotheonosis22026-01-08 19:31

Even if OP decided to cite the compilation video released by the HoyoFair channel that includes said video, the title literally has "Fan Art" in it.

The same comp video has characters running around using guns, shopping, using a TV, driving cars, etc. OP can claim Columbina is supposed to be something she never was but thinks the other scenarios are fine? Lmao.

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 19:36

Fr like there is a reason why Hoyofair has its own account it's because it literally says its where all the fan content is posted lol 😭

Like honestly all this but they still don't admit it was just their own fault for assuming things like cmon hoyofair? The one that has elemental warfare 💀

Acceptable-Career-622026-01-08 19:17

It's literally made by a random freelance animation YouTuber and only has hoyofair in the title it's not posted by hoyoverse or genshin and is literally said to be fan made for hoyofair so again that's the disclaimer here

It's "endorsed" by the company as content for the fair and not something that's actually for the game

notthatjaded2026-01-08 19:19

So you saw stuff from a production group that is *not* Hoyoverse and did not *claim* to be or to be contracted with Hoyoverse, and you assumed it was official? This is all on you. If you didn't know what Hoyofair was, all you have to do is type the name into your favorite search engine and the top several results will explicitly refer to it as having content made by fans. Like, you don't even have to go digging for it.

Official stuff always has the Hoyoverse logo on it and is always on official Hoyoverse accounts.

Anmatiel2026-01-08 19:23

You saw AN ANALOG HORROR video with a bunch of third parties not connected to Hoyo, including someone who isn't Dottore's VA doing voice work for Dottore and thought it was canon? Ok, fair.

Apotheonosis22026-01-08 19:27

>I don't think

This is obvious.

>I don't think as a consumer I should be blamed for believe being media officially endorsed by the company is mainline

No, you should be.

HoyoFair content is OBVIOUSLY non-canonical to people who have a functioning brain or the ability to think for 10 seconds or less. The title of the video released by Hoyo that contains the video you say is where you got your knowledge literally contains the words "Fan Art". Are you also going to say that Eula and Amber were employees of Pizza Hut cause Hoyo had a collab with them? Are you also going to say that Jean and Klee drink Happy Lemon cause there's artwork of them holding Happy Lemon drinks?

From another comment, you are right. Media literacy is dead when people like you think supporting fan creations is an official definition of the character.

Ravemst2026-01-08 19:24

Dude she was never a weird and uncanny nor was she like a biblically accurate angel that was a fan animation that for some stupid reason people though was canon and spread it around like it was. We literally knew nothing about her except for some hearsay from a few harbingers who never really got to know her properly like we did in Nod-Krai. Even Arlecchino and Sandrone didn't know her well enough until Nod-Krai and now they're even closer as friends. So how about instead of believing headcanons or other made up stuff by fans you actually learn about her like the devs wanted us too. Columbina was never some biblically accurate angel she's a Moon Goddess and a kind hearted one at that who is also very curious about things.

Apotheonosis22026-01-08 19:36

>feel free to criticize me anywhere

How are you going to say this and then starting insulting other people for being no-life fans and blaming Hoyo for your own shortcomings the moment you get any form of criticism?

rekage992026-01-08 20:33

You miss your headcannon and are disappointed she didn’t match the expectations in your mind.

Sucks to suck.