Possibly the most underrated and underappreciated moment of the AQ
This moment stuck with me for a long time (which isn't much since the AQ only came out a few days ago but that's beside the point).
When Columbina traveled back to the past a third (or fourth, can't remember the exact number) time, she had at this point realized that the unknown individual who helped the Traveler was herself all along. She briefly wonders whether it would create a time paradox if she were to not help them this time.
And then, what does she do?
She laughs.
She doesn't hesitate, she doesn't try to reason, no, she **laughs**. As if the very thought of doing anything but helping her friends is unthinkable, outright ridiculous.
Now let's think back on how Columbina was at the beginning, when we meet her for the first time: She was hesitant to either receive or give help, because she viewed these random acts of kindness as a transaction, something you owe if you received it. The her from back then might have not so willingly helped others so easily and readily without a good reason.
This tiny moment is only a few seconds, easily forgettable even. But it speaks so much for how much Columbina has grown and how much she has come to appreciate her friends. It is the peak of "show, don't tell".
I love her so much.
When Columbina traveled back to the past a third (or fourth, can't remember the exact number) time, she had at this point realized that the unknown individual who helped the Traveler was herself all along. She briefly wonders whether it would create a time paradox if she were to not help them this time.
And then, what does she do?
She laughs.
She doesn't hesitate, she doesn't try to reason, no, she **laughs**. As if the very thought of doing anything but helping her friends is unthinkable, outright ridiculous.
Now let's think back on how Columbina was at the beginning, when we meet her for the first time: She was hesitant to either receive or give help, because she viewed these random acts of kindness as a transaction, something you owe if you received it. The her from back then might have not so willingly helped others so easily and readily without a good reason.
This tiny moment is only a few seconds, easily forgettable even. But it speaks so much for how much Columbina has grown and how much she has come to appreciate her friends. It is the peak of "show, don't tell".
I love her so much.
Commentaires
That's a long way from just seeing him as "the traveler's associate" at the end of Act 2 (coincidently, it's the same Act that the scene in the OP originally is in).
This change we see with her in the AQ is easily my favourite part of Columbina's character development. By the end, she's more willing to trust others, but not too much to the point of being too gullible for others to take advantage of. She's found a place she belongs to and people she deeply cares about, and that's counting pretty much everyone of the protagonists. From Arlecchino and Sandrone, who she's known before when she was in the Fatui but never really bonded with at the time, to Lauma, who slowly came to accept that Columbina didn't want to be worshipped as the Kuutar and just wanted to have a peaceful life.
Even characters like Flins, who she first saw as just an associate to the Traveler, and Nefer who is so secretive and had a hard shell to break through, eventually bonded with her to the point of being called "friends".