On the possibility of a Columbina/Citlali rewrite
I hope I won’t get too many downvotes for this. Please read until the end before taking out your pitchforks.
Spoilers for Luna IV AQ.
So yeah, this is totally a conspiracy theory. I don’t necessarily believe it 100%, but there are a couple too many coincidences for me to ignore, and I figured someone should write them down, so might as well be me. I am not really trying to convince anyone, and if you disagree, that's fine. I just want this to be out there as my 2 cents in the discussion, as even a wrong theory, can inspire someone to write a better one, and hey, that's how we improve as a community.
And no, I will not insist here that Columbina was meant to be a psychotic horror killing machine and Genshin ruined her for money. Don't be silly. I am also not saying that Genshin would be better one way or another. I just intend to just speculate on a switch in Columbina's role in the story, regardless of whether or not her personality was aligned with the early speculations, and regardless on the impact (ha) on the quality of storytelling. I will touch on her personality a bit later, but only a bit, as it's quite difficult to imagine a switch in a role without some personality change. I would howeve rlike to say that **I really like Columbina as she is right now**. I thoroughly enjoy her character and I think Genshin did a fantastic job with the Nod Krai AQ.
This post is not supposed to be a rant. It is an attempt by me to track a **potential** rewrite, and if it is the case, to showcase how Genshin handles rewrites and retcons, so that we can spot them in the future **if** they happen. **Please, treat this as a thought experiment first and foremost.**
I am unfortunately aware of the state of Fatui discourse and **I disavow anyone who would like to use what I put down as a cudgel against the writing team or people who enjoy the quests**. There’s a huge difference between me sitting here speculating wildly without consequence about what would be cool to me, and actually getting down to it and writing a story for tens of millions of players. I have nothing but respect for Genshin’s writers, and I hope they keep on delivering amazing archon quests, even if they falter a bit here and there. Bottom line is, **rewrites happen**, and I trust that even if my theory is true, they had a proper reason for changing the story a bit.
With that out of the way, let me point out some things I find weird about harbingers generally, and Natlan specifically.
1. **Citlali is weird.**
I will refer you to [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/Genshin_Lore/comments/1mipr7r/citlali_is_a_repurposed_columbina_beta/) post for the fuller tinfoil. The TL;DR is that some **ancient rumours** suggest that Columbina was supposed to be this "groggy, detached, obsessed with the Traveller, connected to the Pyro Archon” character, which in many ways fits **Citlali**. It also of course fits Columbina a bit as she is now, except for the Pyro Archon part. Citlali is however weird in many more ways, and in a way, has a similar role in her tribe as Columbina has among scions, down to being a shut-in and providing divinations.
2. **Masters of the Night Wind are weird**
Let’s take a look at Natlan’s tribes. We have:
\-sailors
\-daredevils
\-fitness maniacs
\-miners
\-pilots
\-semi immortal shamans
Now I feel like one of those tribes is not like the other. All the other tribes have very **"physical”** identities to them, whereas the Masters of the Night Wind are very **spiritual**. This also happens to be the tricbe that has **Citlali**, the drunken grandma, whose immortality is at best poorly explained. Immortality is a big theme, so to me it seems quite odd that they would leave the Masters of the Night Wind’s immortality so vague. They are also the **cryo** tribe, one associated with **frost**, and more than other tribes associated with the **wayobs**. We can also see the remnants of the concept of them **siding with the Fatui** in the Natlan AQ with Ororon.
3. **Fatui constellation wheel**
[that old thing](https://preview.redd.it/p86rvqvzqheg1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=8d21e66789670364d84ae4499d011e663eb25796)
We know that in the **original** plan for Genshin, we were supposed to go to **Shneznaya first**. I don’t think it’s too unreasonable to assume, that the Dottore boss fight we got now would still have happened in Nod Krai, after dealing with the Tsaritsa, probably in the 2nd half of Shneznaya (or 1st half of the year after Shneznaya). Presuming that, I feel it is very odd that they would follow the wheel boss fight order for **4 harbingers in a row**, just to break it now with no fight against Columbina. Natlan is also the only region after 1.0 with **no Harbinger fight**. I find it extremely odd.
4. **Columbina looks like a wayob**
[They're not THAT different](https://preview.redd.it/2k5jh5v9sheg1.png?width=1522&format=png&auto=webp&s=571ee2e4f68aedc581d43546435b84b169c30198)
This is an **old** idea, many pointed out how the "vibes" of the wayobs are similar to Columbina's. I don't think they are that strong in her current look, but there certainly still are some similarities. For one, there are very few **six** winged angels in the game so far, and her hairpiece, one of the few things Genshin's team would have been unbale to adjust **post-lazzo**, does resemble a Wayob.
5. **Suspiciously angel-shaped Arlecchino and Crucabena**
This is a common idea that I **hate**, but unfortunately it does suport what I’m trying to prove so I do have to bring it up. Crucabena’s existence wasn’t **really** foreshadowed, and it feels like she’s there just to pin the Knave’s sins on someone not playable. Arlecchino herself also feels a bit odd now, as she is the second moon-associated angelic harbinger we have (had), which does feel a bit like rehashing the same idea.
6. **Harbingers and regions**
An old fandom idea is that every region/archon gets a harbinger, with extra ones for the Abyss, 2 dynasties of Khaenri’ah, and probably Celestia (likely 10th, since Childe, 11th, should be Abyss-associated).
The obvious pairings are:
**Mondstadt** – Signora
**Liyue** – (likely) Pantalone
**Inazuma** – Wanderer
**Sumeru** – Dottore
**Fontaine** – Marionette
**Shneznaya** – Pulcinella
**Abyss** – Childe
**Crimson Moon Dynasty** – Arlecchino
**Eclipse Dynasty** – Capitano
This leaves Natlan with no associated harbinger. Now we still can have the 10th be Natlanese, but do entertain the idea that the Harbinger that has wayob vibes might be Natlanese.
7. **The Frostmoon Scions**
Which brings me to the final point, **The Frostmoon Scions** and their suspiciously **Natlan-shaped world quest**. It’s a little odd, that this is the only wq in Genshin that has draconic Natlanese elements outside of Natlan. The Frostmoon scions should also be associated with **cryo**, right? **Frost** moon? Like the Masters of the Night Wind. And the Frostmoon Scions also have a semi-divine figure that is their """god""”, like the Masters of the Night Wind have citlali. And they also have some **blood** shenanigans that make them special, different from ordinary humans. Just like the Masters of the Night Wind.
Bringing this all together, I would like to propose how Natlan's AQ was **originally** conceived, and how Columbina’s role had changed.
The Frostmoon Scions straight up were **made up** for the current Nod Krai AQ. The original concept for the Natlanese cryo tribe led by Columbina was split into Masters of the Night Wind and the Frostmoon Scions. Which is why the Frostmoon Scions have Natlanese elements in their wq. This would make Columbina the **missing Natlanese harbinger**. She still could have had a connection to the Frost Moon for all we know, maybe paralleling that one moon sister that fell in love with a mortal, turning against the orders of **Nibelung**, who is represented by **the sun**, just like the **pyro archon** is associated with **the sun**, and the original cryo tribe would have **turned away** from them, the remnants of the idea we got in the current version of Natlan’s AQ. If the Tsaritsa is somehow connected with the moon sister’s lover, which she very well might be, this fits even better, as Fatui Columbina would then **parallel** the lovers’ story that turned the sister away from her divine duty, away from the sun.
Columbina could still be associated with the moon sisters in this version, or could just be a manifestation of the wayob or smth. She would be the 2nd "main” playable character of the 5.x patch cycle, following the pattern of archon-harbinger. Instead in her place we have **Skirk** as the second "main" playable character. A **draconic** (dragons are associated with Natlan) **sword** user (like angels are often depicted) that is **cryo** (the masters of the night wind’s element) which nicely goes against **mavuika’s pyro** (fire and ice). And, y’know, there’s the Frost Moon thing, so, cryo. Huh. So Columbina would have had Skirk's kit and her place. Skirk even has a Luonnotar shaped being in her SQ!
We also got teased with Capitano. Who, **if the wheel holds true**, should be a Shneznaya boss, after Columbina would have been the Natlan boss. If the rewrite did indeed happen, it likely is what brought Capitano to Natlan. After moving Columbina to Nod Krai, they needed a harbinger for Natlan. But he couldn’t have a boss fight, since that’s still on for Shneznaya. Probably. At this point this could have been changed too. So they put him in time-out to accomodate Nod Krai’s AQ.
The Natlan storyline would then be, among other things, about getting Columbina to **work with us** against the abyss, probably **bribing** her with a gnosis. She could then still take part in Shneznaya AQ plot, or even just in Nod Krai, since that was most likely originally planned as Shneznaya 2nd half. Citlali might not have originally existed at all, or at least not in the current shape.
And the travail line, "The rules of war are woven in the **womb**”. Columbina is one of the few (the only?) playable characters that we have seen **create/birth** a being with a semblance of a soul, **Luonnotar**. The "secret” mentioned in the trailer could then be, oh idk, that Columbina birthed all the wayobs or smth like that? Similar to the idea of her being **all the Energy in Nod Krai.** The ode of resurrection would then come from her "womb”, cause all the wayobs were birthed there – she would be similar to **the Lord of the Night**, just with amnesia. Also would give the writers an easy out to write her however they wanted for the AQ and then do a 180 on her character **if needed**. Could even be smth like with the raidens, one of the other moon associated characters with a wheel behind them on their elemental skill.
Finally, we come to **Arlecchino**. Tell me, between Arlecchino and Columbina, if you were to remark on one of them being disturbing, which one would you pick? Is it the delicate, cold, detached girl, or the **burning murder angelspider** with a scythe? Cause I think it’s the latter. So why are the voice lines from Childe implying that Columbina is the disturbing one? I do believe that some concepts from Columbina’s original idea were used in Arlecchino, cause again, having 2 angelic harbingers seems a little repetitive. The parts of Arlecchino that had to be swapped out became Crucabena, and Columbina had her new character built basically from scratch.
In the end, this is all just a collection of things that are pretty weird, which I feel fit together awkwardly, with there being a way more **neat** way to piece them all together. I would like to stress again, that I do **like** Columbina and that this is not a rant. Just a collection of things I find odd. I recognize that similar discrepancies can be pointed out in other regions. I know this topic is quite delicate right now, but I still find value in trying to hunt down lost storylines. I think if we're able to pin down when rewrites happen, it could tell us a lot about the future. In any case, I hope you enjoyed this post, and that you've found at least some value in, what in the end is just pointless speculation.
Spoilers for Luna IV AQ.
So yeah, this is totally a conspiracy theory. I don’t necessarily believe it 100%, but there are a couple too many coincidences for me to ignore, and I figured someone should write them down, so might as well be me. I am not really trying to convince anyone, and if you disagree, that's fine. I just want this to be out there as my 2 cents in the discussion, as even a wrong theory, can inspire someone to write a better one, and hey, that's how we improve as a community.
And no, I will not insist here that Columbina was meant to be a psychotic horror killing machine and Genshin ruined her for money. Don't be silly. I am also not saying that Genshin would be better one way or another. I just intend to just speculate on a switch in Columbina's role in the story, regardless of whether or not her personality was aligned with the early speculations, and regardless on the impact (ha) on the quality of storytelling. I will touch on her personality a bit later, but only a bit, as it's quite difficult to imagine a switch in a role without some personality change. I would howeve rlike to say that **I really like Columbina as she is right now**. I thoroughly enjoy her character and I think Genshin did a fantastic job with the Nod Krai AQ.
This post is not supposed to be a rant. It is an attempt by me to track a **potential** rewrite, and if it is the case, to showcase how Genshin handles rewrites and retcons, so that we can spot them in the future **if** they happen. **Please, treat this as a thought experiment first and foremost.**
I am unfortunately aware of the state of Fatui discourse and **I disavow anyone who would like to use what I put down as a cudgel against the writing team or people who enjoy the quests**. There’s a huge difference between me sitting here speculating wildly without consequence about what would be cool to me, and actually getting down to it and writing a story for tens of millions of players. I have nothing but respect for Genshin’s writers, and I hope they keep on delivering amazing archon quests, even if they falter a bit here and there. Bottom line is, **rewrites happen**, and I trust that even if my theory is true, they had a proper reason for changing the story a bit.
With that out of the way, let me point out some things I find weird about harbingers generally, and Natlan specifically.
1. **Citlali is weird.**
I will refer you to [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/Genshin_Lore/comments/1mipr7r/citlali_is_a_repurposed_columbina_beta/) post for the fuller tinfoil. The TL;DR is that some **ancient rumours** suggest that Columbina was supposed to be this "groggy, detached, obsessed with the Traveller, connected to the Pyro Archon” character, which in many ways fits **Citlali**. It also of course fits Columbina a bit as she is now, except for the Pyro Archon part. Citlali is however weird in many more ways, and in a way, has a similar role in her tribe as Columbina has among scions, down to being a shut-in and providing divinations.
2. **Masters of the Night Wind are weird**
Let’s take a look at Natlan’s tribes. We have:
\-sailors
\-daredevils
\-fitness maniacs
\-miners
\-pilots
\-semi immortal shamans
Now I feel like one of those tribes is not like the other. All the other tribes have very **"physical”** identities to them, whereas the Masters of the Night Wind are very **spiritual**. This also happens to be the tricbe that has **Citlali**, the drunken grandma, whose immortality is at best poorly explained. Immortality is a big theme, so to me it seems quite odd that they would leave the Masters of the Night Wind’s immortality so vague. They are also the **cryo** tribe, one associated with **frost**, and more than other tribes associated with the **wayobs**. We can also see the remnants of the concept of them **siding with the Fatui** in the Natlan AQ with Ororon.
3. **Fatui constellation wheel**
[that old thing](https://preview.redd.it/p86rvqvzqheg1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=8d21e66789670364d84ae4499d011e663eb25796)
We know that in the **original** plan for Genshin, we were supposed to go to **Shneznaya first**. I don’t think it’s too unreasonable to assume, that the Dottore boss fight we got now would still have happened in Nod Krai, after dealing with the Tsaritsa, probably in the 2nd half of Shneznaya (or 1st half of the year after Shneznaya). Presuming that, I feel it is very odd that they would follow the wheel boss fight order for **4 harbingers in a row**, just to break it now with no fight against Columbina. Natlan is also the only region after 1.0 with **no Harbinger fight**. I find it extremely odd.
4. **Columbina looks like a wayob**
[They're not THAT different](https://preview.redd.it/2k5jh5v9sheg1.png?width=1522&format=png&auto=webp&s=571ee2e4f68aedc581d43546435b84b169c30198)
This is an **old** idea, many pointed out how the "vibes" of the wayobs are similar to Columbina's. I don't think they are that strong in her current look, but there certainly still are some similarities. For one, there are very few **six** winged angels in the game so far, and her hairpiece, one of the few things Genshin's team would have been unbale to adjust **post-lazzo**, does resemble a Wayob.
5. **Suspiciously angel-shaped Arlecchino and Crucabena**
This is a common idea that I **hate**, but unfortunately it does suport what I’m trying to prove so I do have to bring it up. Crucabena’s existence wasn’t **really** foreshadowed, and it feels like she’s there just to pin the Knave’s sins on someone not playable. Arlecchino herself also feels a bit odd now, as she is the second moon-associated angelic harbinger we have (had), which does feel a bit like rehashing the same idea.
6. **Harbingers and regions**
An old fandom idea is that every region/archon gets a harbinger, with extra ones for the Abyss, 2 dynasties of Khaenri’ah, and probably Celestia (likely 10th, since Childe, 11th, should be Abyss-associated).
The obvious pairings are:
**Mondstadt** – Signora
**Liyue** – (likely) Pantalone
**Inazuma** – Wanderer
**Sumeru** – Dottore
**Fontaine** – Marionette
**Shneznaya** – Pulcinella
**Abyss** – Childe
**Crimson Moon Dynasty** – Arlecchino
**Eclipse Dynasty** – Capitano
This leaves Natlan with no associated harbinger. Now we still can have the 10th be Natlanese, but do entertain the idea that the Harbinger that has wayob vibes might be Natlanese.
7. **The Frostmoon Scions**
Which brings me to the final point, **The Frostmoon Scions** and their suspiciously **Natlan-shaped world quest**. It’s a little odd, that this is the only wq in Genshin that has draconic Natlanese elements outside of Natlan. The Frostmoon scions should also be associated with **cryo**, right? **Frost** moon? Like the Masters of the Night Wind. And the Frostmoon Scions also have a semi-divine figure that is their """god""”, like the Masters of the Night Wind have citlali. And they also have some **blood** shenanigans that make them special, different from ordinary humans. Just like the Masters of the Night Wind.
Bringing this all together, I would like to propose how Natlan's AQ was **originally** conceived, and how Columbina’s role had changed.
The Frostmoon Scions straight up were **made up** for the current Nod Krai AQ. The original concept for the Natlanese cryo tribe led by Columbina was split into Masters of the Night Wind and the Frostmoon Scions. Which is why the Frostmoon Scions have Natlanese elements in their wq. This would make Columbina the **missing Natlanese harbinger**. She still could have had a connection to the Frost Moon for all we know, maybe paralleling that one moon sister that fell in love with a mortal, turning against the orders of **Nibelung**, who is represented by **the sun**, just like the **pyro archon** is associated with **the sun**, and the original cryo tribe would have **turned away** from them, the remnants of the idea we got in the current version of Natlan’s AQ. If the Tsaritsa is somehow connected with the moon sister’s lover, which she very well might be, this fits even better, as Fatui Columbina would then **parallel** the lovers’ story that turned the sister away from her divine duty, away from the sun.
Columbina could still be associated with the moon sisters in this version, or could just be a manifestation of the wayob or smth. She would be the 2nd "main” playable character of the 5.x patch cycle, following the pattern of archon-harbinger. Instead in her place we have **Skirk** as the second "main" playable character. A **draconic** (dragons are associated with Natlan) **sword** user (like angels are often depicted) that is **cryo** (the masters of the night wind’s element) which nicely goes against **mavuika’s pyro** (fire and ice). And, y’know, there’s the Frost Moon thing, so, cryo. Huh. So Columbina would have had Skirk's kit and her place. Skirk even has a Luonnotar shaped being in her SQ!
We also got teased with Capitano. Who, **if the wheel holds true**, should be a Shneznaya boss, after Columbina would have been the Natlan boss. If the rewrite did indeed happen, it likely is what brought Capitano to Natlan. After moving Columbina to Nod Krai, they needed a harbinger for Natlan. But he couldn’t have a boss fight, since that’s still on for Shneznaya. Probably. At this point this could have been changed too. So they put him in time-out to accomodate Nod Krai’s AQ.
The Natlan storyline would then be, among other things, about getting Columbina to **work with us** against the abyss, probably **bribing** her with a gnosis. She could then still take part in Shneznaya AQ plot, or even just in Nod Krai, since that was most likely originally planned as Shneznaya 2nd half. Citlali might not have originally existed at all, or at least not in the current shape.
And the travail line, "The rules of war are woven in the **womb**”. Columbina is one of the few (the only?) playable characters that we have seen **create/birth** a being with a semblance of a soul, **Luonnotar**. The "secret” mentioned in the trailer could then be, oh idk, that Columbina birthed all the wayobs or smth like that? Similar to the idea of her being **all the Energy in Nod Krai.** The ode of resurrection would then come from her "womb”, cause all the wayobs were birthed there – she would be similar to **the Lord of the Night**, just with amnesia. Also would give the writers an easy out to write her however they wanted for the AQ and then do a 180 on her character **if needed**. Could even be smth like with the raidens, one of the other moon associated characters with a wheel behind them on their elemental skill.
Finally, we come to **Arlecchino**. Tell me, between Arlecchino and Columbina, if you were to remark on one of them being disturbing, which one would you pick? Is it the delicate, cold, detached girl, or the **burning murder angelspider** with a scythe? Cause I think it’s the latter. So why are the voice lines from Childe implying that Columbina is the disturbing one? I do believe that some concepts from Columbina’s original idea were used in Arlecchino, cause again, having 2 angelic harbingers seems a little repetitive. The parts of Arlecchino that had to be swapped out became Crucabena, and Columbina had her new character built basically from scratch.
In the end, this is all just a collection of things that are pretty weird, which I feel fit together awkwardly, with there being a way more **neat** way to piece them all together. I would like to stress again, that I do **like** Columbina and that this is not a rant. Just a collection of things I find odd. I recognize that similar discrepancies can be pointed out in other regions. I know this topic is quite delicate right now, but I still find value in trying to hunt down lost storylines. I think if we're able to pin down when rewrites happen, it could tell us a lot about the future. In any case, I hope you enjoyed this post, and that you've found at least some value in, what in the end is just pointless speculation.
Commentaires
Yes, people of this sub are generally trigger-happy on the accusations and assumptions but that is no reason to prime yourself like that. You'll get what you'll get, grow a backbone.
No
Genshin does well for not succumbing to fanfictions and constant rewrites for not aligning with their headcanons
Even less so to open the pandora box of having everyone rewritten because of even more nonsensical reasons
And opening to admit that Citlali and Columbina got rewritten because of finding genuine retroactive affection from the Traveler, one after drowning her own sorrows on her own lifespan far surpassing anyone else around her, and the other after hundreds of years been used by others as a transaction mule
Then using "patterns and made up theories" like the fatuiwheel to justify the order of Fatui we would "fight", even tho patterns are just patterns until they are not anymore. And using that as a rewrite of "Natlan" to introduce Nod Krai
Natlan isnt even done yet per MJ and Pyro Gnosis still been censored and on posession of Mavuika, so claiming it got "rewritten" just cause of the Fatui wheel theory
Or how the Scions have a "Natlanese shaped quest"? Like what?
People liked the Ochkanatlan quest that gave you a free sword and did the same with Nod Krai. There is no nefarious reason or rewrite. There is simply data
Finding patterns in data is exactly what we like to do as monkeys, right? And tracking potential changes in the story, well that's never going to have a proper canon source, right? Because the canon could have gotten changed. All we can really base theories like these on are just vibes and maybe leaks.
And this post is what I got from the vibes. I think there's value in finding potential rewrites and retcons, because while details may change, the overall message and themes should stay the same, right? By analyzing those, we can maybe try to take a peek behind the curtain, and see something that was obscured by the writers possibly changing the story to mislead us.
I'm sure there are weird things like the ones I mentioned in other regions too. But I noticed them here, and wanted to share them. I think it's likely that some rewrite had happened, but in the end, I also like where we eventually got, so I'm happy either way.
I am actually staunchly anti-AI and hate what it's doing to creativity as a whole. I would never use it to generate a post, half the joy comes from the creative process after all :)
So it's clearer to **understand** what OP is **emphasising** especially when there's **large amounts of detail**????? **WootyMcWoot** you must be a **tool** with **shit literacy** if you think this is AI
I actually found the Citlali post quite interesting lol guess our brains are wired a bit different. But yeah, I think Capitano is definitely coming back, with how much he seems to resemble the Lich King. And yknow, if they moved him to Natlan, that could mean they moved someone else out of Natlan. Maybe someone necessary for the region they themselves had admitted they didn't plan originally.
Genshin began as a Chinese version of Breath Of The Wild. I don't mean ripoff, I mean an alternative view of the game, chill.
Natlan, to me at least, carried a MASSIVE amount of Tears Of The Kingdom DNA, from the ancient dragon people with insane technology, to the sky islands, to the way that the secret source dragons fly around the sky just like the 3 dragons from BotW and TotK.
What strikes me, is how similar Zelda's and Columbina's stories are, both undergoing transformation to escape the clutches of time, and then needing help from the protagonist to undo that change. So yeah, I think Columbina was certainly intended to be closer to Natlan than she ended up being.
1. your link is basic a head canon come from a "lore?" nerd with "leak" info. we all know story was writen 1 year before live, example Sumeru story was starting writen while Inazuma just lived. So if anything differance about story, it's either they use placeholder or misinfomation to catch leaker. We also know old "leaked" Furina's gameplay was actually Columbina gameplay now, by your logic Furina should be rework?
2. Master of nightwind are painters and that is not enough "physic" to you? Literally whole granny's quest are about "a special color"
3. What the fuck even is this logic here? why we must fight Harbingers according to this wheel? Did Hoyo tell you that? why we must fight one or two Harbinger every nation? Why Mond is ok but Natlan is not?
4. Yes? And? You hate her just for that?
5. And why Yoyo should rewrite Bina and granny because of this again
6. why you talking about Wayob way too much? You don't even understand what is Fatui, also Childe is Shnez
7. Did you really play the game? Literaly their god is Hydro. Frostmoon is just the name of the moon that shine brightest, by your logic pls explain Eternal moon. Also Citali is not the god of the trible, her bestfriend/enemy was the one that gossiped
I also haven't really seen any actual facts in here. Like yeah, you bring up names or models, but then you insert how you feel or think something connects/related, and use those subjective connections to try and push the point along. That's excluding just straight up holes, like you trying to connect harbingers to nations but ignoring Pierro for some reason (director or not, he is still a harbinger)
this genuinely reminds me of Kokomi is hydro sovereign theories and how some people still insist that she was, and Hoyo retconned it to insert Neuvillette
Edit: just in case it needs to be stated, BTW, I have no problems with theories like Kokomi one by itself. It becomes a problem when people later start to promote speculations from said theory as some factual information and that it was "clearly" rewritten cuz it doesn't lead anywhere anymore (All cuz they think said theory is somehow more "right")
Unfortunately those theories are going to be very conspiratorial by nature - it is trying to argue that facts have changed, so it’s difficult to get any factual evidence:/ it is truly, just vibes.
I am well aware that I’m basically standing in front of a inspiracji board trying to argue aliens. But the vibes to me say, that columbina was supposed to be natlanese, regardless of any personality changes.
It’s also funny you brought up the kokomi theories cause I was all over that stuff before Fontaine lol.
Still, I hope you took something out of my rambling. Thanks for reading!